by Alan Moore
Lucia strolls her ayes disqueetly at Mass Gabson’s gabbulousness, blut hellows the wuther ‘umman to contonanonanonanonue.
“Heaven busytid this ferry place on rumourous accausions whitherto, I’ve lawned that it is Kindthorte Summert’ry, a willowpointed pleace upon the nowthen outshirts of the trowm. It is my strang confiction that the two averse are here todie, whatether deitis, becourse this is the platz that we are beddied, rather clustergother as it urns out. I ave heven scene ourt grabes, and vary noice they are, though yeurs of cause gets more ostention than my mown. They have a little sorrymany overy yhere upon Rejoyce’s Day windare are laties wearing liftly drowses and men drossed up in an I-pitch to luck lack your fater.”
Lucia is why-died and inkredherloss. Dis ease impart at the odear of being barehid inlay a few deadstones downfarm Twilit Gobsome and endouring her incessiant tatter for eternortwo, while import it is at the note-onpreasant mnotion of reveallers closedaring abat her fineol’ rusting plaice, disgauzed as her ond herowne darkling Babbo. What a vine site that mossed be, now, heavin at the back an’ all, with alice colure and its comeldy. She is consaddering delikely spooktickle with mixty motions when the torquative and elddolly near-muss nasassin odds a trailpeace to her starey, aprepose o’ knowthing.
“O, yez! I allmust farglot in my senillatease, but there was a smyll ditall of our cematerial errangements that I thought might hoffersham amuzement to you. Seperal grovestaines down frame you the utterway theur lys a giantolman whose name is Funnygain. I hope you denkensider that a piss off uslyess infermation.”
A tremultuous liffter wills up out of Lucia, asfirm the veri blottom of hcer bein. Whee, this is textraordinary! This is quote the finniest think she’s ever headabout, the blest knews that Schezeverad. She and hoar fether alwords had a kinder glame betwain the too oftem, where they prettyndeed that his riteing was gleeating the whorle whirld arandom and doctating aviarybirdy’s lives. And yet the pairodigm had allwise norn, widout deneed for auther o’ them two factknowledge it, that wit maid this kinceit so poorfoolly remusing was defict dad it wish not a joker tell. It was the plan et seempale troth, and now/here is the pruth of it: the wordle iterature’s most namous ded protagonised unterred writ’in apace eertoo o’ Lucia hereself, quearly an othor’s touch, di storter thing that nibber ha’pens inreality. Whell, if that dizzn’t take the hake, the piscuit and the wayfer. Lucia has a fetter joybilant and overpèring goggles as she dries to formutate an aquadate regender to her follow moontail-payshunt’s straightmeant.
“Natterdull, my near-Miss Givgun. It is teasily the maust daylightful anticdote that I have had belated to me uponders reternal daze rexcursion, framwich I must sane wake me may boock toowordy mentor-loam inself if I’m to by in team for tie. I wander if you could perhope enrighten me as 2D best dirension I shod takin’ order to retern there?”
The eld sinusniper gibs this mutter some insiderubble thaught and a grate dull o’ gerbiage befour suggisting that Lucia shed hood back intruder threes the wishy game, but shrug not take the weigherpan the dexter and loss stall the winnowpan the sanester. Instep, she shush placeed in the uncealed dimection and indisway come at lost upon her own maddress in winceapunner-time, that hyster say the centery in swhich she loived and hid herowne accrammadation. Weaving her cantankery a fund forwool Lucia staps beck in amister voweliage. Flatterning her bidy to a deapthless vigure pented oin a freeze, as she’s been strained to do, she slies to tride betorn the layters of reventuality. Contalking spellegantly, twhispring into sharpes form a cunfusual treeometry, Lucia atemps to blend around the corncavexers and the angels that kennot be applyhanded in the ordownherey farshun undin disway to truverse both splace and terme concletely through the modium of madern dans.
She’s not womanaged to pèregrace in wark mere than a dozin yarns or so by this ever-eliborate mythod of permangulation when a suddle shofting of di late unforms her dout she is nowlinger shnuffling throoter blittle stanz o’ treece in Klingst’hope Cemiterra. Luccing up she seize a redprick cock-tower, or perlapse it is a crowmaterium Jim’ny realing up abud de sperse greyn canoply. As utter illdings of a shimmerlully crippy nuture stark to gloom up interview Lucia blunderstands that her missgibded whendurings have indred braut her to a maidhouse, illbeit nutter one that shivers looping for. Witover displace is, it isn’t hilf as betterfeel as the treeming firhidian expenses of Spent Grandrew’s Helthpeddle. This dazent seam to be die kinder playstatue are san’ to ifew ore sufflashantly wall-off to B-classed as delootfully eccspentric. Ruether, this looms like the snort of hedifice hu meat endorp’in if you were runfortulate arough to bee-net only binsane but binsolvent illso.
As if to crownfirm Lucia’s shushpicions, the sturm, salemn fremale vice tha’ dissues from behider hasty onmasstakeable influction of the Angrish murkin’ glasses.
“Yer luck lorst, mid uck. Frum owyer dreftide guessure euster sunwhere asarsite bedder thundisplays.”
Lucia sturns aboat to fend a strung-bowned, hauntsome warmin widder greyd intidey moss iv hair, drossed in a plein housepity gawn and seedead un a peeling monstertution blench retween the kray and chilldy-lacking treeze. Inner appoorance she has slumthing of the nazure of a seebul, inshe pawts the flaying splimber of the berch desider as an indocation that Lucia sudset down, a binvitation that is seemwhite nervoicely acsceptered.
“Think you vary mach far your constern. High ham Luci Adjace, a redicent of the Slant Andlose Ghospital alinger Boilling Read. Wight met your nume be, iffier dawnight monde me arcing, und wass kinderplace ist loss in witcheye find hyshelf?”
The ohthere wombin peats Lucia-sand and swhiles.
“Me naymiss Audbly Fernall injure inncent Christpin’s Drossputall, illong the Bury Word Turn, jester rend the bound from the Rain Mode in Dusttown. Year a godfume-isles from home, ithacan be so bolt, but Idea sea you’ve swome heretrue these b’labouring trees. Die you now, summerthumb are that hugh once eye have tookin the mythmatics of the think ento consideruption that they proke up three the fourboards onetwo Meinsoul? Mainsail is the trowm that’s ever, ifter, and befour Gnorethumptown, incideoutally.”
Lucia blanks in surpraise.
“Wheel, I missay, nyou ‘steem to noah lawful wot about the lurkings of the highhear drealm fourseeing, that you are, an inmeet of this drudgeful-locking pleas.”
Her now fround, who lucks to be inure fraughties or err thrifties, frows black her weeld mown o’ vert and lufts.
“Orwel, lyousee now, it’s becurse highno the workingsuffer litterthinks that I’ve bane pout ad here. Babyrth, I’m werticall a Vernal in disports. Wearier to eversee the bindaries betwhen the dayfront terrastoreys, and at hour reventual inkwaste we defind the trykey corenear beturn one weld and annexed. That’s whigh eye ban shee the raff slopers, all the ghlosts, and seed o’ phanny lickle furry-frudes di et. That’s whaye-aye hafter foursight, witter freesight, toosight and the whensight all instew the boregaim. As fourway I’mere, that is becraze I larked me mam and dud autovour herse and wooden lotthim in. I sad there ploying Whimpering Class hellnight ontil day clame noxt they unday misstook me to the mudhose. No-when reely masked me why I hard burn dewynicht, or ills I shudder tolledoom that it waspycourse I curld no linger bare the waight of insist.”
In boat samepathy and shrock Lookhere roses wan haund to ellipse.
“Woh, how deadfeel! You paw grrl. Word it harb’in an holdher bruter datewise turking labiatease wetyou, a situasin my encase?”
Eer the ether odder too madwi’men shnakes hair thick doctresses.
“Kno, E nuffer hard a brothler, gnaw vice-worser. I was intofeared wit by me fadder, Johlly Vainall in his leud plaud juckit. Wah tit was, usey, I head e toilent. I’dl earned howl to plainter piano-applaudion by sturdying my Great-Haunt Theresaw, who wise nut a herdinhurry woemine. She word walkz the flackout straits and sereneaid the Charman boomers ofherhead with her reranged impovrisations. Manywhy, my ded suggestiv that I jeun a lottle show-panned maid o’ chopsy new, wary would be demonager. Dishwash after the wear, whe
n I was sextween, sementeen, slimthing like dote. He dated on me, dad me fader. Sed the tide bouy on derideo and have me fictures in the mugazines. Thin, shafter one of our beerformances, it was the muddle of the nates, he crame and god in bad whi me and fact me. What I shadder done, I thing know, booking lack, I shatter scrummed and bwoken shameone, but dirt isn’t wait I dad. I river maid a sand, and I tride nacht to mewve, to fake out that I was aslip and dadn’t no that it was happalling, as if that why I wooden rawly be a part avid. It worse the shame oin hell of the occrazions ofter that, quimmy joust lieing there and tryoung not too meek annoys while eyewash wieping. Evil so, me mem, she musty norn. He dared it wince or tweeze a fightnaught ontil I did me solow befirmonce that nicht, pleaing Dispering Crass, letching ham no dout I was croing to toll the twees abate him and his daughty liddel preek, whore it had burn, what hi’d ban dewing wadjet.”
Grievely, Lucia nots her heed.
“My further muy have cushed me inderneed the weighk o’follies will-entindered heapes and paspirations formy, but not plunderneath the whate of his greyd, sweety bady. You poor think. Hid moster been unsneakable. Respite our defferences, nowever, it ocourse to mediat weave aladdin curmen. Butterfuss were laties of abellety who lufter ridhymn and decolleur witwitch we exprosed flowerselves. The père of us had faffers who ward doominate us, illbeit in their disparent fissions, and we verboth stack in argumental homes when it mos phered we’d razor fess adout the fumbly member hid bin snaking us femaleer with his mamba.”
Her comparion snaughts with decrision, alldough not uncandley.
“Oi’ll madmit there mebay sybilarities boytorn us, but the moojer disferance you’re nat mindshunning is won off slaverall sowsin pounds. As humus surly beaware, a poorson of the walkinc losses has de grader leakyhood, spiekling stadistically, of being dieuknowsed as splitzophrantic. It’s amassing how a tidey bank ballast constributes to our sickillogical whilebein, bizzent it? Itt ruley is a mereveil how the betsar-off are stuffering from newvase stress that candy eentsy-cured by an extpensive freeluc in agleeabelle sirowns while thousin my povrition are unfairiably the rhopeless fictims of a mudness that carn moanly be ableviated by injenctions or selectric shrocks. That’s why urinely pissing through, uplom an idyl strawl from your more willowpainted gental instuition, whyle far my port I hamsterk herewith accurseonally bruntal morderlies and fallow passients who afad witever infrallects and paucinalities day ones persissed rebused to slury.”
Lucia remiens expassionless throwout the other womance cructical upraisall of the soso-acrimonic uspact of unseemity, but willillow that much afit is kno mere dandy truth.
“Atmiddley theor ies allot in word use aye, alldough I am ofter repinion that some rieches of destrangement matterford a kinder lovalling; a gloryhous comeoneallity oddy instrane. In my demended strate, I fool I have trancentered operaharps been bared form ourdinnery mnotions of prepayety or propupty or clawss. Ease it not jester seem fire you, or four deridiant and inpowerished Worryem Blaze, or pour Junk Laire, de jonny sur l’erbe, his worne soule hangling by a threat? Is noddy escate offer fisionary lumatic trilly a c’lossal of id sown?”
Hear, Ordnry Burnall smalles an’ knods asifter sigh that Lucia might haver punkt, incorriging hereto convinue.
“Ill the shame, I am disgressed to hairoff the brutility amonster nourshing stuff that you elude to. Ici trially as inbearanbull as you inpry, and ardour no youmean un descent popul care infer you?”
Audbly shuffs awayter ponder queaking bunch.
“I wordhaunt say that dire woes a greyed eel of gruelty, maulthough wart there is can be quike tearable. Dare hatpin orneries who larked to buttercupple of the voident preytients into a locktromb tugather, joust to seethem fright and rabie have a beatup on the boutcome. The majollity of dose who trend to us sim lie and barge undifferent, but there farafew who tare nowt to be liffley, imparresting kindividuals. Juicy that tall yeng foellow fruiter trees dare, havana sly smirke beyonder buttrest of that dedprick bulldung? He-swan o’ my feverites.”
Pearing between deferns and blanches Lucia considdy warderly with the heropic statuer that her nofeigned squalleague is rephwoaring to. Helax, she thanks, like sameone innerfilm who gnos the whirld aboutime isapointed Set an’ dollarfits uphovels morely narrowtiff de vices that are carmenplays in scenema. Cleerly bescotted, her calmpinion hatters on infusiastically deguarding an inflatuation that is oblivously undefected anthus unrequainted.
“He’s a Scuts lag comfroom Goreby werthy presess all the steal, but wunderneath it all the poi’s an archist. I imachine thatsway he escraped his bathplays, potting all the smarks and spelting werks behide hemand atind’ring at the Ard Skul haire, the wandert’s up Scent Gorgeous Aventue besight the Rapecause, ifew know displacer toll. His nome is Billdog, Billdog Dreammonde, and I’ve header permanition that in jeers to come he well be noun foreving purned a myrion plunds to ash en sum kindove infeathermable choke.”
Lucia tarns this ever inner mined perseveral moremeants befour meeking her deply.
“Will, Icon see how det meet be an oddmirable think to do, mauldough in lighter fit I kennut yelp but wounder that chewer the inmateer and not himsulph. You seem a raysunable womoon. Esther noho pov releaf frame your inclassoration?”
Augery shrags.
“Owe, I don’t whurry abideat. Hour lives are a subloomly scrupted dreama eventoe we luck to thank we’re impovising, and ri’ve run through our poorformances aldeady, cantlostimes. From vatican remumble, in a dozin’ yeahs ah so they clause down this asighloom for the wont of frunds and I’m maved into witty wol de-scribe widoubt a shreg of byrony as ‘scarin der community’, a lightall hilfway hows that’s note fourform my fromeer neighbourhoody, weary shell lave out my daze in ask unstucktive a capricity as I can moonage. Bet wait of yoursalve? Shrub you net bee preturning to your own demental humm befear you’re tookin for a pissyant here?”
Acknowlurching that this ward be a missrabble preventuality, Lucia enchoirs of her knew fround as to the quirkest roote betrip the norn-Yewcliddy entries that wildeliver her barck to Sane Andluce Costpritty, perfourably on the same dayt wenchy sed owt upawn her matchesstic meyonder sho that seize not loft with a tame-pairadux that nodes exbraining to the nuzzing stoff. The talended and fourthright Missy Ternall jeerily snobliges her with compretensive and conclete direactions to herowin splot in the containiwum o’ sparsetome, a trajecstory betweeter shrugs and sharplings that ivolves traking two wryterns, then aleft, an’nexed perceiding fear abate a hindred yarns in the cunsailed dimection. Lucia franks the either fleemale mantol-portient warnly, so competely disterent to hersylph and jetwit search allot o’ stroking smilearities, then waifs goodvie and strets out onder undercatered rout tooweirds her ownyer, her uin madehouse.
Crounching through deliefs and dreadfall hinderfoot Lucia tinks abelle earthather, graveful daddy luft her t’rue his manguage frather den ‘n der toi-leteral way that Audnry’s further hid. Her Babbo, on the underhand, had geniunely bean-amagical andin incharting preature. She precalls win knight in Pairus, won dere’d herd that Charmley Shapelin was endown and she’d bun chest a lewdle girl. Her underfather hard derided alleyz out and stake an evenodd sroll, gist on the undeceivably slum chants they mnight bumpkin tutor creat man, de milleonair trump, Lucia’sidle, darin’ dat glimmense and steeming shity.
Pi sum mirascule, that was exfactly what had happyend. Dyad nighteyesd Chuklin as he stard and witched de Putit Queenyhol’s paupet shoe, his luftly eyes inkwelligent and shad, his bawdy lump and sipple licke that ev a liffing perpet. Lucia had wishaped hym; clad styl do an immasculate imprassion of hom: how he wakled anderway he was helden hamself. When Cia’d heardt that sumyth Chirpling’s earlibirdiest prefamences hid bon eerin Nothankton haz a sylvan-yearn old charld shitbin hystonished and hardfelt the meching of enumerous clickwork cogns of dustineye that had everywhen courtin their progressy workins, vary slite the winsin Madearn Teems. Cher, hidden’t his own moider unded upstick entimental harme?
Metripulously stipping in begree
n the grandelions, she tings back to daet soupternuturally pafict weavening pocketwatching de sadastick carrionettes, abserfing wunner discwhirl’s mast erstormed and intruential menwhile oin the comfknee of anutter wun, dher farther. I’vain though she nowsdout he is ivoryware urrounder, derrer tomes wan Lucia misshis Blubbo tearibly. Shae’d bane shorn ape inf’rance jewring the Nazti okruppation when she’d hurt deddy was dad; winnow the ‘meantally enfabled’ who spurnt lang yeurs gnawvously awaything the horrival oder curttale-weergones dedwood tick them off tether exsquirmo’nation cramps, to the ghas-clambers for rezykling. Needles to say, she’d nut hed a georgenerous left’er nora physit former own infamily evter dis ppoint. Nichter had she ovver herd a ward o’ them agone, nut intill she was satteled inn’ Cent Handdraw’s Losstital durern the Marsh of nenetwine filthty-one. It hardborn jest (a’ courst) a flew weaks later on the tense of Japeril that shame yhere that she had in binformed abatter mummer’s daath, witch hat her hearter than she’d fraught it would. She realeyesees gnow she’d lawved the warmun who hot barthed her ululong. All that she’d iver wintered was the slatest glummer of resippercation for that loave, juster leased droop o’ wettery hope fam the meternal nibble lather than all of the molk (too lait!) undie afiction being exbressed lonly to her colder brether, fair ies chaingelink delactation.
She pointylesstically inspecks the crowcurses and primnoses that seemantic to sodinlay be blueming all abound her fliffey sluppers and susurruspects that she has droamed intwo a snifferent sack o’ print-imps and anauthor seesun, not ti mension, she stravinskincerely hopes, analter pliece. Incouerachingly, shee things that she brackenizes a distumptively gnawled illm, which leafs her to brelieve that she is beckin her own poppa inspiteuton. Heaven so, the poppysong which she canear on the tanzsister rudeo that’s playnting summerwhere retwurn the treeze surgusts that she mote be a decayd or two afframe heroine pèreodd o’ tame: “Dairies know udder day. Les try it amother whey …” Lucia can’t pthink fluydly enearth to quoite recool the pap-grope’s Nam, which is unbarretting, but cia’s an eyedear that daywear bopular aranter muddle o’ the whineteen-sextries. Dadn’t their singlar make a rackerd that had Babbo’s Geldin Heir apun it?