Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker

He said, “Youve seen wite shadders on stannings cernly you seen the 1 in that hoal in Bernt Arse where you foun Lissener.”

I said, “Yes I seen that wite shadder.”

He said, “Wel it ben radiant lite as made that shadder. Radiant lite. Shyning. Wel we know from our oan Eusa Story where you fynd the Hart of the Wud youwl fynd a shyning in be twean his horns. Which that shyning is the Littl Shyning Man the Addom. Only in this Legend its callit ‘ the figure of the crucified Saviour ’. Figure is a word means moren 1 thing and 1 of the things it means is number. Number of the crucified Saviour . Now Iwl tel you some thing intersting Riddley Walker son of Brooder Walker you what put the yellerboy stoan the Salt 4 in my hans. Iwl tel you theres a working in this thing theres a pattren theres mor connexions nor wewl ever fynd reveals of. You know who put me on to what this woal things about? This woal blipful writing?”

I said, “How cud I know that?”

He said, “It wer your oan dad it wer Brooder Walker the same. It wer that reveal he done back when Dog Et largent in Littl Salting. Orfing and me we done a special show then your dad come a long Nex Nite he done a connexion and a reveal the woal thing took lessen a minim. I wernt there to hear it but I heard of it. Dyou have that 1 in memberment?”

I said, “O yes I member that. ‘A littl salting and no saver.’”

He said, “Thats the 1. ‘A littl salting and no saver.’ Wel you know every now and agen youwl hear some thing it means what ever it means but youwl know theres mor in it as wel. Moren wer knowit by who ever said it. So that reveal stayd in my mynd. You see how it wer up to then I never thot this Legend ben anything moren a picter story about a bloak with a name near the same as Eusa. Nor I dint know nothing of chemistery nor fizzics then I hadnt payd no tension to it. Any how I wer reading over this here Legend like I use to do some times and I come to ‘ the figure of the crucified Saviour ’. Number of the crucified Saviour and wunnening how that be come the Littl Shyning Man the Addom. Suddn it jumpt in to my mynd ‘A littl salting and no saver’. I dint have no idear what crucified myt be nor up to then I hadnt give Saviour much thot I thot it myt mean some 1 as saves only that dint connect with nothing. Id never put it to gether with saver like in savery . Not sweet. Salty. A salt crucified. I gone to the chemistery working I askit 1 Stoan Phist that wer Belnots dad what crucified myt be nor he wernt cern but he thot itwd be some thing you done in a cruciboal. 1st time Id heard the word. Thats a hard firet boal they use it doing a chemistery try out which you cud call that crucifrying or crucifying. Which that crucified Saviour or crucifryd salt thats our Littl Shyning Man him as got pult in 2 by Eusa. So ‘ the figure of the crucified Saviour ’ is the number of the salt de vydit in 2 parts in the cruciboal and radiating lite coming acrost on it. The salt and the saver, 1ce youve got that salt youre on your way to the woal chemistery and fizzics of it. Right up to your las try out which is the brazen bull which is to say your brazing boal and the chard coal. But thats all tecker knowledging realy you wunt hardly unner stan it nor I wont wear you out with it. Youve got to do your take off and your run off and your carry off. Which its wrote in the story its the wife took off by pirates and the wolf run off with 1 littl boy and the lion carrit off the other. The wife is the sof and the sweet you see which is took off by the sharp and the salty. Them pirates and wolfs and lions theyre all assits theyre all sharp and biting its all chemistery in there. Them 2 littl boys theyre what they call ‘catwl twis’ which is what you put in to qwicken on your episodes. Right thru that part of it Eusa hes whats lef after the takings hes having his res and due. Finely after the brazing boal you get your four souls which is your 4 salts gethert. Man and wife and littl childer coming back to gether for the las time thats your new clear family it aint the 1 you startit with its the finement of it in to shyning gethert to the 1 Big 1. Mynd you all this what Im saying its jus theary which I mean we aint done nothing with it yet we cudnt cud we we aint had the parper salts and that. Wel now this here bag of yellerboy myt be the break and thru the barren year with a bang. I know itwl take tryl narrer and spare the mending but may be this time wewl do it.”

I dint say nothing I wer jus sitting there with my head widening in them circels spreading to no where. It wer broad day looking in thru the smoak hoal. Goodparley looking at me suddn then he says, “We never did emty your pockits did we whats that bulging in there? Trubba not Iwl jus have a littl look.” Which he reaches in to my pockit and puls out that blackent hook nose hump back figger.

He looks at it and his eyes get big then nex thing he begins to cry. I dint know what to do I said, “What is it?”

He wer snuffling and wiping his eyes he said, “O how that takes me back o how it twisses my hart. I tel you theres a working in this it aint jus happening randem theres too many things be twean us.”

I said, “Whatre you talking about? Whats that got to do with that figger?”

“O,” he said. “How them trees swayd in the morning wind that day and the smoak going up from the berning!” He wer pulling me to him and hugging me and slubbening on my neck. I dint know what to do I pattit his back like you wud with any frend took greavis. Knowing wylst I done it he wernt my frend tho he wantit to be. Some thing else as wel. Dint know how I knowit but I knowit I had the upper of him some how I wer the stronger 1. He myt have me kilt if it come on him to do it yet I had a Power he dint. He knowit and I knowit yet I cudntve said right then what it wer. I dont mean the Power you have when some 1 craves for you I mean some thing else.

He said, “Here it is a nother morning and the sky all grey jus like that morning so far back when I ben a boy I bint a man like you I bint no moren 10 years old.”

I said, “What happent?” Thinking on Lissener and thinking on Belnot Phist. Wunnering how it wer with them and suddn I wer scaret for the werst. Becaws Goodparley myt talk easy and smyl yet you never cud be qwite sure where you wer with him. There wernt no 1 else in the shelter with us jus then. I knowit wer going to be him or me some time some way. My weapons ben took a way from me I wer wunnering if it mytnt be the bes thing if I jus grabbit his knife out of his belt and stuck it in him. It cud wel be thatwd save Inland a woal lot of Trubba. Only soons that thot come to me it like ternt Goodparley in to the Littl Shyning Man. Which some thing as wantit to be 1wd be toar in 2. Plus even if it hadnt ben for that I wernt a qwick a nuff thinker to progam whatwd come nex. How to get Phist and me boath out of there. Any how the minim past nor I dint do nothing.

Goodparley movit a way and sat his self down agen. He had that blackent hook nose hump back figger on his right han it wer terning its head this way and that looking at him. Some times it wavit its arms wylst he talkit.

He said, “This here figger his name is Punch which hes the oldes figger there is. He wer old time back way way back long befor Eusa ever ben thot of. Hes so old he cant dy is what Granser tol me. He wernt my Granser he wernt no kin to me that ben jus the name I knowit him by I never knowit his parper name he wunt tel me it.

“1st I ever seen of Granser I wer sitting up in a tree and the smoak going up from my fents berning. May be you think I ben beartht on the Ram beartht in to the Mincery. Wel I wernt nor I wernt beartht on no form nyther I wer beartht in a fents we wer a moving crowd sames your peopl ben time back. A border fents it wer Bad Mercy Fents you wont fynd it now its long gone. Bernt down that day in a raid from Outland. We dint have nothing for them to take only our groun and our women which they took boath. 1 time follers a nother the groun come back in a cuppl of years Weaping Form is what it is now they say you can hear the goasts of the childer what ben kilt there. The groun come back but the women never and my mum 1 of them.