They hand me one page No title No seal Just seven lines and one word scratched out "Read it." I do Nothing "Again." Same words same room Third time through the last line changes I stop Look up Nobody moves "Keep going." Yeah Of course The letters settle Then shift One sentence leans into another And something behind the wall starts breathing with me Read it again The ink hasn't moved I know it hasn't So why the hell does it say something different? Same seven lines same black stain But one word keeps changing every time I think I know its name Read it again Fourth time The candles lean left Fifth My shadow doesn't I move my hand It waits Then follows Half a second late "Is that supposed to happen?" Nothing Perfect The page gets warm One word burns through DON'T Then beneath it LOOK So naturally I look My shadow turns first I don't Then it smiles with my mouth DON'T MOVE KEEP READING DON'T LET IT FINISH THE LINE ONE WORD TWO LIES THREE BREATHS BEHIND MINE IF IT SPEAKS DON'T ANSWER IF IT REACHES FOLD It peels off the wall Flat at first Then shoulders hands teeth Almost me Same scar same eyes Wrong weight It reaches for the page I pull back It mouths something No sound Then my half writes: WAIT Its half writes: OPEN The floor cracks between us Read it again The ink hasn't moved I know it hasn't So why the hell does it say something different? Same seven lines same black stain But one word keeps changing every time I think I know its name Read it again I don't swing Don't run Just fold the page The thing drops Fold it again One knee Again Flat Back into the wall The room goes still I open the page Seven lines One word scratched out Same as before Except now I know it isn't Read it again Not slower Not louder Just long enough to catch what changes first The word the shadow the breath behind the wall One page Two answers I fold it shut and somewhere beyond the stone another lock gives way "Again?" "Again."
