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In Chapter 3 of Seedfolks, why couldn't Ana walk down the stairs?

In Chapter 3 entitled "Wendell," Ana, Wendell's upstairs neighbor, calls him while he is sleeping and tells him to come to her apartment as quick as he can. Wendell mentions that he hopes that he won't find Ana laying dead on the floor when he gets to her apartment. Ana is an old Romanian woman whose apartment overlooks the vacant lot on Gibb Street. When he arrives at her apartment, Ana tells him that the little bean plants are dying, and the girl who planted them hadn't come to water the plants in four days. Ana then mentions that she thinks the little girl is either sick or out of town. The reason Ana couldn't walk down the steps to water them herself is because she had twisted her ankle badly and couldn't "manage stairs." Ana proceeds to tell Wendell to fill up her pitcher with water and soak the wilted bean plants. Wendell reluctantly fills the pitcher and heads down to vacant lot to water the little girl's plants.

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