Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker

After a wyl the wind easit off and there come thunner and litening. Meat smoak in the rain and fires we cudnt get warm at. It snuck me how soon that come to seam the naturel way of things it fealt like I ben roading in the rainy dark with Lissener and them dogs for years. Yet when the litening flasht and Iwd see all them dog backs wet and shyning in the rain then it wer like a dream.

1ce Lissener said to me, “Dyou have the gethering dream?”

I said, “Whats that?”

He said, “Its where theres all the many nor there aint no end to you there aint no place where you begin nor leave off. Mountins of us valleys of us far far lans and countrys of us. Tits and bellys it wud take you days to walk acrost. Girt roun bums and arms and legs all jynt big and long and long and girt jynt man and woman parts all mullerplying back to gether all what ben de vydit. No mor oansome in the gethering. No mor edge where you leave off and the nex begins jus all of us as far as you can see with all the eyes of us it dont matter whose eyes youre looking out of you dont nead none of your oan. You have that dream?”

I said, “No we have the ½ dream.”

He said, “Whats that?”

I said, “It aint a parper dream realy its a fealing comes on you when youre falling a sleap. Youre jus going off easy when suddn its like a bersting in you like youre bersting in 1000 peaces then you come a wake with your hart going fas.”

He said, “Funny. It ben the Puter Leat give you that dream yet we dont have it our self.”

It realy glitcht my cool how he said that. He dint even have no parper face on the front of his head. Him the Puter Leat. I said, “What ben the Puter Leat any how?”

He said, “What Goodparley calls Eusas head which it ben a girt box of knowing and you hook up peopl to it thats what a puter ben. We ben the Puter Leat we had the woal worl in our mynd and we had worls beyont this in our mynd we progammit pas the sarvering gallack seas WE PROGAMMIT THE GIRT DANTS OF THE EVERY THING. WE RUN THE BLUE THE RED THE YELLER WE RUN THE RED THE BLACK WE RUN THE SEED OF THE RED AND SEED OF THE BLACK. WE RUN THE MANY COOLS OF ADDOM AND THE PARTY COOLS OF STOAN. HART OF THE WUD AND STOMP YOUR FOOT. 1 AND 2 AND SHAKE OF THE HORNS AND 1 AND 2 AND SPLIT OF THE SHYNING…”

That wer when I clappt my han over his mouf it wer giving me the creaps how he wer going on. He wer stomping in the mud he wer dantsing and shouting and his face all wite with no eyes in the litening flashes. He begun to groan then like some terbel thing wer taking him and got inside him. He startit to fall and I easit him down I knowit he wer having a fit I seen that kynd of thing befor. I stuck the clof part of the hump back figger be twean his teef so he wunt bite his tung. I wer on my knees in the mud and holding him wylst he twissit and groant and that hook nose head all black and smyling nodding in the litening flashes. The dogs all gethert roun and them close to him grovvelt with ther ears laid back. Holding Lissener I cud feal how strong he wer tho he wernt putting out no strenth agenst me he wer sturgling with what ever wer inside him. I wunnert what wud happen if it got pas him and out. It dint tho. It roalt him roun and shook him up it bent him like a bow but finely it pult back to where ever it come out of. When it gone he wunt do nothing only sleap nor I cudnt get him to walk 1 step.

By then wed come off the A20 we wer on what they call the Iron Track tho there aint no iron to it only some times in the summer youwl see red dus coming up. I put Lissener over my sholder and forkt off the track and looking for some shelter. Come the nex litening flash I seen a old stoan rune I knowit the place they callit Rose & Power it ben from wel befor time back way back. It wer mosly jus a jumbl of stoans ben dug out here and there for sheltering 1 time and a nother.

I got Lissener inside and covert him up with his doss bag then I huddlt in with all them wet dogs. Warm and coasy it wer plus that pong wer some thing you cud get hy on you dint nead to smoak. After a littl I thot may be there wer a nother smel in there as wel I cudnt say what it wer tho. I stayd sharp and scanful long and long then I thot I myswel catch a littl sleap my self.

When I woak up it fealt like the nite mus be about ½ gone. The storm wer pas the raind littlt off to a girzel. I got Lissener on his feet and off we gone. It wernt no moren a 6fag and we wer in Fork Stoan outers. Its only be twean 4 and 5 faggers from there to the senter so I begun to think on what we myt be going to do when we got there. Suddn it come down hevvy on me how many things I dint know. Dint even have no idear of. Me with my grean lites and my blips. I said to Lissener, “How many Eusa folk be there in Fork Stoan?”

He said, “There aint none there jus now. When its time for Goodparley and the Ardship to do the askings roun the circel they put all the other Eusa folk in Cambry and they keap the dead town hoals all emty for the Ardship.”

I said, “How many Eusa folk be there all to gether?”

He said, “45 counting me. Which they axel rate it roun the circel you see. Counting from Horny Boy its 1 in the 1st then 2 in the 2nd and so on til you have 9 in No. 9 which the pirntowt is 45. They all ways breed us up to moren a nuff and then they kul us down to that.”

I said, “Be you telling me there aint no moren 45 Eusa folk in the woal of Inland?”

He said, “Thats right.”

I thot: 45 Eusa folk. 40 bleeding 5. Wunt you know it. Some how wylst we ben roading to Fork Stoan Id begun to see in my mynd me and Lissener with 100s and 100s behynt us and stomping the Ram flat. There it wer tho. Which ever side Im on theres all ways mor on the other side. I begun to wish I dint know nothing moren I knowit befor I come to Bernt Arse that morning. Iyther you dont know nothing or you know too much it dont seam like theres any thing in be twean. Lissener dint seam to have no worrys tho. He jus roalt a long with a easy kynd of sylents coming out of him I have to say it over loadit my serkits jus that littl bit. I said to him, “You dont seam worrit nor nothing.”

He said, “Why shud I be? When I ben in that hoal it lookit like there cudnt only 1 thing happen. Now it looks like any thing myt happen.”

I said, “Yet it mus be hard for you with no eyes you cant even see what youre walking in to.”

He said, “No 1 can. Onlyes diffrents is them with eyes they think they can.”

I tryd to ease up a littl. I myndit my self itwd parbly be a nother 6fag befor we come in to any bother so why not in joy that peace of time the bes I cud. Stil it takes you strange walking in your old foot steps like that. Putting your groan up foot where your chyld foot run nor dint know nothing what wer coming. All them ins and outs and ups and downs of Fork Stoan outers ben my vencher place when I ben littl. Me and my kid crowd. Some of them dead befor they ever growt up. Follery Digman dog et. Ender Easten kilt in a digging. Belgrave Moaters dead of the coffing sickness. Ferny Carpenter took off by a feaver. And here come Riddley Walker walking thru that dead town dark with his blyn moon brother. Smelling the dead town smel of old grean rot old berning old piss on the stoans. Old littl Riddley Walkers from time back running a head of me and follering behynt. Yelling ther sylents and singing ther rimes and clyming over old walls stumps and stannings.

We kep getting closer to the senter. I hadnt never seen the out poast but I knowit about where it wer and wewd perwel be in it in a minim or 2. I said to Lissener, “I know I ben the 1 as said Fork Stoan but here we are coming in to the senter of it nor I dint have no progam what about you?”

He said, “Im lissening enn I.”

I said, “Youwl lissen us right in to Grabs your Aunty in a minim if we keap on walking dont you have nothing in mynd?”