“Then there had been the slowdown; an accumulation, as in sluggish rivers. Things ended up in this house that hadn't been needed in their city life but that they couldn't simply throw out. Layers of sediment, over thirty years of it, had sifted in during springs and summers and falls and springs and summers, and now Nell must dig down through these layers, excavate them, as if the house has been buried under the ash from a volcanic eruption.” Material ThingsMaterial PossessionsPossessionsBelongingsAccumulations Book:Old Babes in the Wood: Stories Source: Old Babes in the Wood: Stories