He drove the shovel into the soil, cutting deeper than he ten years earlier. Layers of earth peeled away: damp topsoil, compacted clay, gritty sediment. Each slice sent vibrations through the handle, echoing up his arms like a steady, growing heartbeat.
As he dug, he noticed the soil composition shifting. Beneath the darker layers, lighter sediment appeared—crushed stone, pebbles, small pockets of air as though something had displaced the earth repeatedly over the years. It only strengthened his sense that the mound had been rising for a reason.