The roof line sagged. Perhaps because of a weak rafter? The little sag added character to the structure; like laugh lines.
Otherwise the structure stood proud and square with graceful architectural features. A welcoming porch stretched across the front. Tall windows flanked the center entryway. Transom glass framed the door. Carved trim graced the door and the windows.
The house set on level ground among pines and other trees. Shrubs, including a purple rhododendron, anchored the house to its location. The entire scene was idyllic.
….
Decades later the house still displayed its striking features. The porch still stretched across the front. Tall windows still flanked the center entryway. Transom glass and carved trim-work still surrounded the door and windows.
And the roof with the little sag? The roof had caved in. Not much longer and the house completely fell in upon itself. What first appeared as a little sag in the roof-line had eventually taken down the entire structure.
With its collapse the house was forced to reveal a startling secret. The front half had rested on a sturdy foundation made of solid stone blocks. The back half had been supported by rough and mismatched field rocks.
The point where the foundation’s construction changed from blocks of stone to rough rocks marked the point where, decades earlier, that little sag in the roof line had first appeared.
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