One Hundred Years of Solitude

had not been a human being
there for at least half a
century. The impulsive
Aureliano Triste did not need
such proof to proceed. He
pushed on the main door with
his shoulder and the worm-
eaten wooden frame fell
down noiselessly amid a dull
cataclysm of dust and termite
nests. Aureliano Triste stood
on the threshold waiting for
the dust to clear and then he
saw in the center of the room