eight is two circles standing on each other's shoulders. tip the figure sideways and you get the long sign for forever — which suggests the two had been holding it up all along.

the building has an eighth floor that no one quite reaches by lift. you can take the stairs but you arrive on the seventh and a half, and have to walk the rest. above eight, the count gets careless.

octaves repeat, but never exactly: an echo of one with more weight. a ribbon tied in a bow uses the shape twice. see also: seven · nine.