Chapter 585: Change III
It was not whole.
Wholeness implies fragments assembled. Fragments imply breakage or separation. Separation implies distance. Distance implies position. Position implies space. Space had not yet spoken itself into relevance.
It was not broken.
Brokenness implies a previous unity. Unity implies distinct parts fused. Parts imply difference. Difference implies measure. Measure implies relation. Relation had not formed.
It was not origin.
Origin implies a point from which something proceeds. Proceeding implies movement. Movement implies time. Time had not been invited.
It was not aftermath.
Aftermath implies something occurred before. Before implies sequence. Sequence implies order. Order implies structure. Structure had no lines to follow.
It was not cradle.
A cradle implies something held. Held implies containment. Containment implies separation from what is outside. Outside had not been proposed.
It was not grave.
A grave implies something placed to rest. Rest implies cease. Cease implies change. Change implies time. Time had not placed its first mark.
It held no path.
Path implies movement through a landscape. Landscape implies expanse. Expanse implies scale. Scale implies measurable stretch. Measurement had not taken breath.
It harbored no direction.
Direction implies orientation. Orientation implies reference. Reference implies awareness. Awareness implies distance. Distance had not found meaning.
It was not possibility.
Possibility implies outcomes waiting to be chosen. Choice implies decision. Decision implies alternatives. Alternatives imply plurality. Plurality implies otherness. Otherness had never stepped forward.
It was not constraint.
Constraint implies force exerted to limit. Limit implies range. Range implies boundary. Boundaries had not risen from the void.
It required no witness.
Witness implies observation. Observation implies separation between seer and seen. Separation implies two. Two remained unspoken.
It feared no oblivion.
Oblivion implies loss. Loss implies prior possession. Possession implies ownership. Ownership implies distinction. Distinction had not formed.
There was no cradle, no culmination, no mandate, no release.
No ascent. No descent.
No awakening. No forgetting.
It did not shine. It did not dim. It did not call or return.
It did not wait to be noticed, nor did it fade from neglect.
For neglect implies expectation unmet. Expectation implies hope. Hope implies longing. Longing implies emptiness. Emptiness implies absence from a place meant to hold. Place had not taken form.
And so it rested—not in calm, not in dread, not in silence or sound—
—but in the seamless absence where even the notion of "rest" would have been too heavy a word.
Nothing had asked it to be.
Nothing had opposed it being.
Nothing had acknowledged its presence.
Nothing had denied its unrealness.
Unclaimed, unmeasured, unburdened by contrast—
it endured, not as endurance, but as that quiet unformed state where even the idea of states had not yet found the courage to occur.
It had no edge.
Edge implies a meeting point between what is and what is not. A meeting point implies boundary. Boundary implies limit. Limit implies separation. Separation had not been introduced.
It had no center.
Center implies a middle. Middle implies extremes. Extremes imply range. Range implies measurement. Measurement had not entered.
It was not vast.
Vastness implies comparison against something smaller. Comparison implies awareness of scale. Scale implies perspective. Perspective implies a position from which to view. No viewing had begun.
It was not small.
Smallness implies context. Context implies placement. Placement implies relation. Relation implies more than one. More than one had not occurred.
It was not stable.
Stability implies the potential for change. Change implies time. Time still waited outside, uncalled.
It was not fleeting.
Fleeting implies passage. Passage implies direction. Direction implies orientation. Orientation implies distinction. Distinction still slept, unnamed.
It was not void.
Void implies absence. Absence implies something that could have been present. Presence implies identity. Identity implies definition. Definition had never been written.
It was not fullness.
Fullness implies capacity reached. Capacity implies structure. Structure implies shape. Shape implies form. Form had not stirred.
There was nothing to grasp.
To grasp implies intention. Intention implies desire. Desire implies lack. Lack implies potential. Potential implies deviation. Deviation implies a line to diverge from. No lines existed.
There was nothing to release.
Release implies tension. Tension implies force. Force implies action. Action implies change. Change implies time. Time remained uninvited.
It did not hold still.
Stillness implies motion withheld. Motion implies path. Path implies direction. Direction implies difference. Difference had not surfaced.
It did not drift.
Drifting implies a medium to drift through. A medium implies environment. Environment implies containment. Containment implies distinction between inside and outside. Outside remained unimagined.
It did not remain.
Remaining implies something could leave. Leaving implies distance. Distance implies separation. Separation had not been conceived.
There was no question.
Questions imply unknowns. Unknowns imply knowns. Known implies recognition. Recognition implies awareness. Awareness had not drawn breath.
There was no answer.
Answers imply inquiry. Inquiry implies curiosity. Curiosity implies mind. Mind implies presence. Presence implies being. Even being had not declared itself.
And in that place without place, without word, without reference—
—it continued.
Not as continuation, because that suggests sequence.
Not as existence, because that suggests definition.
Simply as what required no name to sustain itself.
It was not untouched.
Untouched implies the possibility of contact. Contact implies surface. Surface implies distinction between inside and out. Outside had never been suggested.
It was not untouched because touch had no opposite.
It was not concealed.
Concealment implies visibility denied. Visibility implies observer. Observer implies separation. Separation had not taken shape.
It was not revealed.
Revelation implies a change in state—from hidden to seen. Seen implies light, light implies contrast. Contrast implies difference. Difference had not been allowed.
Nothing could be given to it.
To give implies ownership. Ownership implies possession. Possession implies boundaries. Boundaries had not emerged.
Nothing could be taken from it.
To take implies removal. Removal implies placement. Placement implies structure. Structure had not stood.
It held no potential.
Potential implies something yet to become. Becoming implies movement from what is to what could be. Movement implies time. Time did not matter.
It held no finality.
Finality implies completion. Completion implies process. Process implies stages. Stages imply order. Order remained unspoken.
There was no waiting.
Waiting implies anticipation. Anticipation implies awareness of something forthcoming. Forthcoming implies future. Future had not been granted.
There was no arrival.
Arrival implies departure. Departure implies origin. Origin implies position. Position implies reference. Reference had no frame.
There was no center to approach, no edge to avoid.
No threshold to cross, no boundary to define.
No silence to break, no sound to begin.
No light to rise, no dark to recede.
This was not the start.
This was not before the start.
This was not after.
This was the absence of placement for such words.
Nothing leaned toward form.
Nothing recoiled from it.
There was no pull.
There was no release.
There was no tension.
There was no relief.
No calm.
No chaos.
No drift toward meaning.
No collapse from it.
And if a word could have entered, it would have been erased before it knew itself.
And if an image could have formed, it would have dissolved before difference could cling to contour.
Here, where here was not yet defined,
there was only that which needed nothing.