p.2

 Let's break down some of the more difficult words and phrases in the passage:

• "The path is straight as ever, but now it is strewn with the rocks and gravel that accumulate over a lifetime."

  • "The path is straight as ever": This suggests that the character's life goals or general direction haven't changed. They still know where they want to go or what they need to do.

  • "strewn with the rocks and gravel that accumulate over a lifetime": This is a metaphor. "Rocks and gravel" represent the burdens, challenges, illnesses, regrets, or difficulties that have built up over the character's life, making their journey more difficult than it used to be.

• "Until three years ago it would have been easy to ignore, but it’s impossible now."

  • This implies that whatever "it" refers to (likely the difficulties mentioned in the previous phrase, perhaps related to their health or life's accumulated burdens) has become so significant or severe that it can no longer be overlooked or pushed aside.

• "There is a sickness rolling through my body; I’m neither strong nor healthy, and my days are spent like an old party balloon: listless, spongy, and growing softer over time."

  • "A sickness rolling through my body": This clearly indicates the character is experiencing a serious illness that is affecting them physically. "Rolling through" suggests it's pervasive and perhaps progressive.

  • "listless": Lacking energy or enthusiasm; tired and without motivation.

  • "spongy": Here, it likely means weak, soft, and lacking firmness, similar to a deflated balloon. It emphasizes their physical deterioration.

  • "growing softer over time": This highlights the progressive nature of their physical decline due to the sickness.

• "I stand from my seat by the window and shuffle across the room..."

  • "shuffle": To walk by dragging one's feet without lifting them completely off the ground. This suggests weakness, tiredness, or perhaps an old age gait.

• "A person can get used to anything, if given enough time."

  • This is a general observation about human adaptability, but in this context, it refers to the characters (including the narrator) becoming accustomed to the isolated, perhaps monotonous or sad, environment of the place they are in (likely a care facility or hospital). They've grown used to being alone or to the difficult circumstances.

• "They have become numb to it, but then again, so have I."

  • "numb to it": They no longer feel or react to the crying (or whatever the source of the distress is) because they have heard it so frequently or for so long. Their emotional response has dulled.