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An excerpt from the novel Mammother
2. Zachary Schomburg is the author of The Man Suit (Black Ocean, 2007), Scary, No Scary (Black Ocean, 2009), Fjords Vol. 1 (Black Years before he died strangely and horribly in his Ocean, 2012) and The Book Of Joshua (Black Ocean, 2014). He sleep, Father Mothers built Our Lady of the Blood with co-does Octopus Books and Octopus Magazine. his own hands. It was a church that soon became known to everyone in Pie Time as simply Lady Blood. He built it in a field where he was met by a bear with no legs. It growled at him, fierce and loud like all bears, but of course it just stayed put. It was a bear in every way, capable of killing Father Mothers if it would have somehow been able to get his leg in its jaws. But Father Mothers didn’t fear it. He just built the church right over the top of it, while it snarled and snapped and cried at night. Eventually, it stopped making noise altogether, and just watched Father Mothers build the
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built, and after a few months of construction, it became became it construction, of months few a after and built,
carpenter. Lady Blood was the only building he had ever ever had he building only the was Blood Lady carpenter.
Father Mothers was far from being an architect or a a or architect an being from far was Mothers Father
Father Mothers had come from. from. come had Mothers Father
In the distance beyond the valley were the mountains where where mountains the were valley the beyond distance the In
on the other side of The Cure, and the valley was to the east. east. the to was valley the and Cure, The of side other the on
river which circled the village. The woods were to the west, west, the to were woods The village. the circled which river
Blood at its center, built upon the banks of The Cure, the the Cure, The of banks the upon built center, its at Blood
mind. At first, Pie Time was just a tiny village with Lady Lady with village tiny a just was Time Pie first, At mind.
“You have a beautiful baby,” he said. said. he baby,” beautiful a have “You
Time and he built it with only a few dozen parishioners in in parishioners dozen few a only with it built he and Time
Lady Blood was the first structure to be built in Pie Pie in built be to structure first the was Blood Lady move. would they
so long, he thought. He wanted to blow on them to see if if see to them on blow to wanted He thought. he long, so
four legs. legs. four
face. He counted all of her eyelashes from below. They were were They below. from eyelashes her of all counted He face.
of its most-feared natural enemies, a bear, had none of its its of none had bear, a enemies, natural most-feared its of
edges again. Mano looked up into Inez’s red, half-smiling half-smiling red, Inez’s into up looked Mano again. edges
Time would be particularly safe from its enemies, if the first first the if enemies, its from safe particularly be would Time
for Mano. The world’s shapes had perfect yellow and green green and yellow perfect had shapes world’s The Mano. for
church, and to build the town of Pie Time around it. Pie Pie it. around Time Pie of town the build to and church,
The lenses in the glasses were the perfect prescription prescription perfect the were glasses the in lenses The
Mothers that this would be a very special land to build his his build to land special very a be would this that Mothers
curious smile. curious A bear with no legs had been an omen to Father Father to omen an been had legs no with bear A
strange coming out of his mouth, and Inez cracked a a cracked Inez and mouth, his of out coming strange
but then it died. died. it then but
“I am a man,” he said overconfidently. It sounded sounded It overconfidently. said he man,” a am “I
the first people of Pie Time. They liked to pet it and feed it, it, feed and it pet to liked They Time. Pie of people first the
men,” she said. she men,” church around it. It was a bear in a church. It got used to to used got It church. a in bear a was It it. around church
clear that the church looked like no other church anyone Mano squinted at them, and then he could see that had ever seen before. It looked nothing like anything except 2 she was holding up glasses. They were plastic and black a drafty and lopsided white barn. But not a barn exactly along the top, just the kind of glasses that Mano had always either. A little like the pope’s hat, if the pope’s hat were flat, wanted. “They were in it?” but with a sharp ridge down its center. Or a paper airplane. “Yes,” she said between half-breaths, readjusting Baby It was strange to see something so new look so old. None of Zuzu in her arms. his early parishioners had the heart to complain. “Inside of it?” Lady Blood was built in the days before the plague known as God’s Finger penetrated the town, gripping it “Yes, inside the hole.” with anxiety and fear, and sending it down into a terrible spiral of grief and depression. The cross at Lady Blood’s apex “Are they his?” was much too modest of a cross in the face of God’s Finger. “The Barber doesn’t even wear glasses,” she said. It was only the size of one man. “How…” That is why Father Mother’s son, Father Mothers II, climbed up on to its roof, toiling well into a late spring “I don’t…” evening with a hammer and nails and two planks of wormy “Can I see?” Mano held out his hand. wood salvaged from the woods in the west hills. The new cross was much needed for these modern days riddled with Inez handed Mano the glasses, and he tried them on. sin. He planned a cross that would be twice the size of the She watched him try them on, and tilted her head to the original cross built by his late father so that more sinners side so she could see if they fit him properly. “They’re for
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plank above his head, and hammered it into the air. He He air. the into it hammered and head, his above plank
“these were in it.” She held up a pair of men’s glasses. men’s of pair a up held She it.” in were “these
his old-aged left arm could muster, he lifted the horizontal horizontal the lifted he muster, could arm left old-aged his
“Oh!” She was suddenly awake to the world again. again. world the to awake suddenly was She “Oh!”
cross that his father had built. With as much strength as as strength much as With built. had father his that cross
left hand, and the hammer in his right, he climbed the old old the climbed he right, his in hammer the and hand, left into the open air if it did. it if air open the into
With the horizontal plank heavy in the grip of his large large his of grip the in heavy plank horizontal the With Mano wanted to see just how her body would settle out out settle would body her how just see to wanted Mano
one was watching him, except maybe some of the sheep. sheep. the of some maybe except him, watching was one button on Inez’s blouse looked like it was about to pop off. off. pop to about was it like looked blouse Inez’s on button
every house, and all of the fields. He could be sure that no no that sure be could He fields. the of all and house, every about his organs, his heart, that sort of thing. The top top The thing. of sort that heart, his organs, his about
where Mothers II was standing, he could see all of Pie Time, Time, Pie of all see could he standing, was II Mothers where “Did you see anything in it?” Mano meant to ask ask to meant Mano it?” in anything see you “Did
Lady Blood was the tallest structure in the valley. From From valley. the in structure tallest the was Blood Lady
together to make a circle while she cried. she while circle a make to together
simply constructing the cross in reverse. reverse. in cross the constructing simply able to touch her middle fingers together and her thumbs thumbs her and together fingers middle her touch to able
to him directly by his lord. So, he considered the logistics of of logistics the considered he So, lord. his by directly him to She tucked Baby Zuzu down into her elbow to be be to elbow her into down Zuzu Baby tucked She
became obsessed with this idea—convinced it was delivered delivered was it idea—convinced this with obsessed became
“How big was it?” was big “How it to the air before erecting the cross’s vertical plank. He He plank. vertical cross’s the erecting before air the to it
of hammering the new cross’s horizontal plank first, nailing nailing first, plank horizontal cross’s new the hammering of
It went all the way through. I could see the bed through it.” through bed the see could I through. way the all went It
While studying his plans, he was struck with the thought thought the with struck was he plans, his studying While
once. “It was just there, in his chest,” she said, “like a hole. hole. a “like said, she chest,” his in there, just was “It once.
which was to stay put until the new one was constructed. constructed. was one new the until put stay to was which
“I don’t know,” she said. Baby Zuzu smiled and clapped clapped and smiled Zuzu Baby said. she know,” don’t “I
for the new cross, and nailed the plans to the old cross, cross, old the to plans the nailed and cross, new the for
drafted plans, complete with the proper measurements measurements proper the with complete plans, drafted from?” come hole the did where “Inez,
Mothers II straddled Lady Blood’s roof, unrolled his his unrolled roof, Blood’s Lady straddled II Mothers
without having to pry into the details. the into pry to having without
could see it from further away. further from it see could husband, her in left hole the about more hear to wanted he
hammered and hammered while he held it, until the nail reason to think that Mano was a girl—he had long hair, passed through the wood. And to his astonishment, he 3 and wore a dress. Once, The Barber suggested a bob cut, could feel the nail take hold in the air behind the plank. something perfect for girls. Each time, Mano refused. He He could feel the heavy plank begin to lighten in his grip. didn’t quite see the point of cutting it any shorter. But the real reason was, like with anything else, he was just scared of “It can’t be true!” anything that he had never done before. On this last visit, The plank felt so light in his hand, he let go of it The Barber, convinced that Mano would never cut his hair, entirely, and it stayed there, on the air. “It is true! A miracle resigned to tell him, “When you grow up, you’ll have to has happened. Oh, lord, I must tell the others.” at least trim your own pubic hair.” This was troubling to Mano, who didn’t quite yet have pubic hair, so hadn’t yet Mothers II was in such a fever to climb down and thought about having to trim it. He imagined the pubic show the others the horizontal plank of the new cross nailed hair growing wild, and overtaking his whole body. He’d on its own into the air—his heart racing at twice the normal have to walk around at all times, trimming the hairs down, speed—that he turned around too quickly on the old cross, to be sure that he wasn’t mistaken for a large mammal. and his collar caught around a bent old nail. Mano squinted at the soft yellow shape that was Baby His feet slipped. Zuzu, and then back at Inez. Mano was no good in these situations. He didn’t know what to ask, or where to look, or The sheep were baaaaing in the distance. if he should touch her. He touched her upper arm with his Little yellow flowers blossomed all over the valley. whole palm, and then just his fingertips, and then he let go. He thought about his long hair, and if she’d notice it, if she’d wonder why her dead husband had never cut it. But mostly
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Mano had never had his hair cut. The Barber had every every had Barber The cut. hair his had never had Mano
come out of the back of the butcher shop on this morning. morning. this on shop butcher the of back the of out come
each week, and to say hello, but never for a haircut. In fact, fact, In haircut. a for never but hello, say to and week, each
talked, and that was Mano’s favorite part. But Pepe didn’t didn’t Pepe But part. favorite Mano’s was that and talked,
Mano visited The Barber to deliver him a box of Pie Times Times Pie of box a him deliver to Barber The visited Mano
and talk. Sometimes they would touch hands while they they while hands touch would they Sometimes talk. and
The Barber wasn’t much of a talker, just a smoker. smoker. a just talker, a of much wasn’t Barber The
on the back steps of the butcher shop for a few minutes minutes few a for shop butcher the of steps back the on
apprenticed for his father, The Butcher. They would sit sit would They Butcher. The father, his for apprenticed a proper wedding. proper a
Mano would walk past the butcher shop where Pepe Let Let Pepe where shop butcher the past walk would Mano before their matrimony, which was in the wrong order for for order wrong the in was which matrimony, their before
On most mornings, on his way to the factory, factory, the to way his on mornings, most On no one else was invited on account that Zuzu was born born was Zuzu that account on invited was else one no
themselves, Baby Zuzu, and Mothers II, who preferred that that preferred who II, Mothers and Zuzu, Baby themselves,
made glasses into a thing he wanted. he thing a into glasses made
a private ceremony that only four people attended— people four only that ceremony private a
but the edges of all of its shapes were soft. Those soft shapes shapes soft Those soft. were shapes its of all of edges the but
A few weeks earlier, Inez married The Barber in in Barber The married Inez earlier, weeks few A
now. The world in front of him was the same as always, always, as same the was him of front in world The now.
decisions through. Still, he needed something, at least for for least at something, needed he Still, through. decisions right.” Inez looked exhausted. She wanted to say no more. no say to wanted She exhausted. looked Inez right.”
look through. The kind of glasses that he could make adult adult make could he that glasses of kind The through. look “Well, I don’t know. But I can’t see how he wasn’t living living wasn’t he how see can’t I But know. don’t I “Well,
of adult’s glasses, whatever that meant. A serious thing to to thing serious A meant. that whatever glasses, adult’s of
believe him? Do you think that’s what happened?” what that’s think you Do him? believe was just beginning to feel as though he was ready for a pair pair a for ready was he though as feel to beginning just was
Mano knew enough not to laugh. “Is that so? Do you you Do so? that “Is laugh. to not enough knew Mano outdated. Also, they were a little girl’s glasses, and Mano Mano and glasses, girl’s little a were they Also, outdated.
were a thing, cracked along the top and the prescription prescription the and top the along cracked thing, a were
poke through the living who aren’t living right.” living aren’t who living the through poke
Time factory, Mano had forgotten his glasses. His glasses glasses His glasses. his forgotten had Mano factory, Time
“Mothers says God’s finger is starting to come down to to down come to starting is finger God’s says “Mothers
all things, and to leave home in time for his work at the Pie Pie the at work his for time in home leave to and things, all
In his haste to think of a thing, a particular thing out of of out thing particular a thing, a of think to haste his In Finger?” God’s What’s Finger? “God’s
3. Finger.” God’s was it think “I
Mano figured he was too late, and that Pepe was already walking toward, then he walked toward them. “Are you busy with his morning shop routines. The idea of missing 4 ok?” he asked the soft green shape that was Inez. any chance to talk with Pepe made Mano’s stomach feel “No, no, not at all,” the soft green shape cried. “It’s empty. Still, Mano waited there behind the butcher shop terrible.” for a few moments, just in case. He wasn’t quite ready to wade through the world with its soft shapes. “What’s terrible?”
As he stood there behind the butcher shop, paralyzed “My husband,” she said. “He’s dead.” for a moment by his indecision, he could see Inez Roar a few houses away across Last Street, on her front lawn, beneath a Inez was twice the size of Mano. To Mano, she looked tree, holding her baby, Zuzu, in her arms. Inez was crying, like a wedding cake. Her hair was big, curled around like but her baby wasn’t. Baby Zuzu had been in the world for frosting, and cascading down to her shoulders. Her legs almost a month, but had yet to cry, not even on the day were long and the size of Mano’s head at the top. Her voice that she was born. She slipped outside of Inez’s body, and was smoky, and it sounded like she was always making an blinked a few times into the light and at her father, The announcement when she spoke. Barber. Sometimes, Inez and The Barber would poke her in “Oh no, that is terrible,” said Mano. the leg with a pin, or scratch her on the bottom of her foot, because they wanted to hear her cry and know what her full “He went…to bed…” she tried to catch up to her own voice sounded like. But when they did, she’d only grimace, smoky breath, “and didn’t wake up…he had…a hole…it or grunt, or even growl. was…”
Mano squinted to be sure who it was that he was “He had a hole?” Mano clarified.
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