Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker

That come to me in the Eusa hoal in Cambry with the dogs all roun me that day. From now on when I write down about the tree in the stoan Iwl write wud not wood. You see what Im saying its the hart of the wud its the hart of the wanting to be.

You cant all ways know when some things happent. Some times youwl think there ben some thing and realy it ben nothing at all. Other times you dont take no noatis til later it comes to you what happent.

This time in the Eusa hoal in Cambry I knowit wer some thing happent. Some thing come in to me. Some thing I lissent out of that place. Else how cud I have in my mynd how the saddelite bird a way way up over the sea looks down on the waves. I can sill see it in my mynd the blue water and the wite foam far far a way down be low me. Thinking then of when Goodparley ben terpiting of the Eusa Legend and there ben that part about the open sea which he terpitit that wer open see .

Thinking on that other thing that with the stoan men I cud see it in my mynd so plain that face with the vines and leaves growing out of the mouf. Them stoans like birds heads Id seen them times a nuff but the face with the vines and leaves Id never seen. I knowit that dint come out of my mynd it musve come in to it from somers. Where ever that mans face come from it fult me sad. It wer a thick kynd of face. Thick nose lookit like it ben bustit. Thick mouf ½ open and the leafy vines growing out of boath sides and curling up roun his head. Lookit like he myt be wearing a hood as wel. The way his mouf wer open and how his eyes lookit it wer like he dint know what to make of it. Like he ben breaving and suddn the breaf coming out of his mouf ternt in to vines and leaves. Cudnt swaller them back and tryd to bite them off but theyre too hard and thick and pulling his mouf a part wider all the time. His eyes wide open with sir prize. Lite grean eyes open so wide.

The look of that face saying so many diffrent things only no words to say them with. Never seen that face befor yet it wer a face I knowit. Take a way the vines and leaves and it myt be Punchs face or it even myt be Eusas face. Which wud be on the front of Eusas head wunnit. Id never realy thot much on that befor. How Eusas face and headwd go to gether.

That face in my mynd with the vines and leaves growing out of the mouf I begun to see it wer the onlyes face there wer. It wer every face. It wer the face of the boar I kilt and the dog that old leader. It wer the face of my father what ben kilt in the digging. It wer Belnot Phist hung up by his hans tyd behynt him and it wer the Littl Shyning Man. Wer it the Ardship of Cambry and all? The Ardship dint have no eyes in his face. And yet myt it be him? I dint know I cudnt say. I cudnt put that face to gether with his face. And yet we wer moon brothers. Goodparley? Yes it wer Goodparleys face moren any bodys may be. Orfings as wel becaws Goodparleys face all ways had Orfings in it. What wer it made the Ardship odd 1 out then? Why wer it every bodys face only not his? I dint know.

Too many things coming in at 1ce. Like all ways. Mixt up I wer. Like all ways. Yet some thing happent there in Cambry. It happent where the dogs run them shyning colours on the wite stoans agenst the black sky. It happent in the Eusa hoal amongst them stoan trees. It happent in my head when I seen the changing stilness of the far a way waves and the face with the grean vines and leaves.

I wer progammit diffrent then from how I ben when I come in to Cambry. Coming in to Cambry my head ben ful of words and rimes and all kynds of jumbl of yellerboy stoan thots. Back then I ben thinking on the Power of the 2 and the 1 and the Hy Power what ben wooshing roun the Power Ring time back way back. The 1 Big 1 and the Spirit of God. My mynd ben all binsy with myndy thinking. Thinking who wer going to do what and how I myt put some thing to gether befor some 1 else done it. Seed of the red and seed of the yeller and that. That onwith of the yeller boy and the pig shit in the hart of the wood. Hart of the wud. Now I dint want nothing of that. I dint know what the connexion wer with that face in my mynd only I knowit that face wer making me think diffrent. I wernt looking for no Hy Power no mor I dint want no Power at all. I dint want to do nothing with that yellerboy stoan no mor. Greanvine wer the name I put to that face in my mynd.

I cud feal some thing growing in me it wer like a grean sea surging in me it wer saying, LOSE IT. Saying, LET GO. Saying, THE ONLYES POWER IS NO POWER.

There come in to my mynd then music or the idear of music I dont know what it wer if I try to hear it now I cant only I know I heard it then. It wer as much colours as it wer souns only if I try to see the colours now I cant. The souns and the colours they be come a moving and I thot I cud move with it.

I startit up out of that stoan wood. The dogs dint grool nor nothing only them 2 nexters black and yeller black and red ther moufs opent like larfing and ther eyes ½ closd and up they gone on ther hynt legs agen. Soons they done it the woal res of the pack done it with them. They had ther littl heads up hy they had ther front legs liffit with ther paws dangling they wer running on ther hynt legs in and out of them stoan trees they wer moving with the souns and colours.

There come mor dogs then it wer the res of the Bernt Arse pack and the black leader with them. Him and them what ben with Lissener. All of them running on ther hynt legs with the others. Runnying a idear in and out of them stoan trees it wer the idear of Greanvine.

Then the black leader stil on his hynt legs he led a way thru the rubbl and the stumps and stannings not too far then down on all 4s and down in to a place dug out be low some fallin stoans. At the back of that place the black leader sniffing and scratching on a stoan with his paw and looking at me.

It lookit like he wantit me to shif that stoan. Which I done. It come out easy there wer a hidey hoal and some thing in it rapt up in a bit of red and black stripet hard clof it wer that same and very clof the Eusa show men use for ther fit ups.

I had a idear what it wer going to be when I unrapt it. I wer right. It wer Greanvine. Carvit out of wood and paintit it wer may be ½ as big as a real face. The back of it flat and the front of it ful roundit it wer that same and very face I seen in my mynd. Them wide open grean eyes staring up at me wylst the vines and leaves growit out of his mouf.

Wunnering if it ben jus only this 1 dog foun that rapt up face or ben it past down 1 dog to a nother 1000s of years and 100s of dogs lifes. The clof wernt old but that face wer. Nothing blackent nor rottit I dint know how I knowit but I knowit. It wer his look he wer looking at me from time back way way back is how I knowit. I lissent it ben past down 1 dog to a nother 1 man to a nother as wel. Not a woman this wernt a woman thing. A woman in this place by the woom of her what has her woom in Cambry wuntve bothert hiding a way this face of a man with vines and leaves growing out of his mouf. This here man dying back in to the earf and the vines growing up thru his arse hoal up thru his gullit and out of his mouf. Not a woman thing. Becaws a woman is a woom an aint she. Shes the 1 with the woom shes the 1 with the new life coming out of her. You wunt carve a womans face with vines and leaves growing out of the mouf. A woman shewl dy back in to the earf but not the same as a man. You cud see the knowing of that in Greanvines eyes. A man myt get 100s of childer but the onlyes new life growing out of him wil be that dead mans vine at the end of his run.

Wunnering who ben the las to look at Greanvine befor me. That red and black stripet hard clof it wer old but not as old as Greanvine. Did it come from a Punch mans fit up or a Eusa show mans? Ben there Punch back then in what ever time Greanvine come from? How far back did Greanvine go? Ben he there when them jynt music pipes ben making ther music? There wer a broak off peg in the back of him. May be he ben peggit to a poast or he ben a kynd of head on a poal when all the broakin stoans of Cambry ben the parper town of Canterbury. Hummering girt and tall in some shape I wunt never know.