One Hundred Years of Solitude

was because in recent years
there had not been a rough
winter or destructive wind.
The hinges had crumbled
with rust, the doors were held
up only by clouds of
cobwebs, the windows were
soldered shut by dampness,
and the floor was broken by
grass and wildflowers and in
the cracks lizards and all
manner of vermin had their
nests, all of which seemed to
confirm the notion that there