Born Of Man And Woman

 

X—This day when it had light mother called me a retch. You retch she said. I saw in
her eyes the anger. I wonder what it is a retch. This day it had water falling from
upstairs. It fell all around. I saw that. The ground of the back I watched from the little
window. The ground it sucked up the water like thirsty lips. It drank too much and it
got sick and runny brown. I didn’t like it. Mother is a pretty I know. In my bed place
with cold walls around I have a paper things that was behind the furnace. It says on it
SCREENSTARS. I see in the pictures faces like of mother and father. Father says they
are pretty. Once he said it. And also mother he said. Mother so pretty and me decent
enough. Look at you he said and didn’t have the nice face. I touched his arm and said
it is airight father. He shook and pulled away where I couldn’t reach.
Today mother let me off the chain a little so I could look out the little window. That’s
howl saw the water falling from upstairs.
XX—This day it had goidness in the upstairs. As I know, when I looked at it my eyes
hurt. After I look at it the cellar is red. I think this was church. They leave the
upstairs. The big machine swallows them and rolls out past and is gone. In the back
part is the little mother. She is much small than me. I am big. It is a secret but I have
pulled the chain out of the wall. I can see out the little window all I like. In this day
when it got dark I had eat my food and some bugs. I hear laughs upstairs. I like to
know why there are laughs for. I took the chain from the wall and wrapped it around
me. I walked squish to the stairs. They creak when I walk on them. My legs slip on
them because I don’t walk on stairs. My feet stick to the wood. I went up and opened
a door. It was a white place. White as white jewels that come from upstairs sometime.
I went in and stood quiet. I hear the laughing some more. I walk to the sound and
look through to the people. More people than I thought was. I thought I should laugh
with them.
Mother came out and pushed the door in. It Mt me and hurt. I fell back on the
smooth
floor and the chain made noise. I cried. She made a hissing noise into her and put her
hand on her mouth. Her eyes got big.
She looked at me. I heard father call. What fell he called. She said a iron board. Come
help pick it up she said. He came and said now is that so heavy you need. He saw me
and grew big. The anger came in his eyes. He hit me. I spilled some of the drip on the
floor from one arm. It was not nice. It made ugly green on the floor. Father told me to
go to the cellar. I had to go. The light it hurt some now in my eyes. It is not so like that
in the cellar. Father tied my legs and arms up. He put me on my bed. Upstairs I heard
laughing while I was quiet there looking on a black spider that was swinging down to
me. I thought what father said. Ohgod he said. And only eight.
XXX—This day father hit in the chain again before it had light. I have to try pull it out
again. He said I was bad to come upstairs. He said never do that again or he would
beat me hard. That hurts. I hurt. I slept the day and rested my head against the cold
wall. I thought of the white place upstairs.
XXXX—I got the chain from the wall out. Mother was upstairs. I heard little laughs
very high. I looked out the window. I saw all little people like the little mother and
little fathers too. They are pretty. They were making nice noise and jumping around

the ground. Their legs was moving hard. They are like mother and father. Mother
says alt right people look like they do. One of the little fathers saw me. He pointed at
the window. I let go and slid down the wall in the dark. I curled up as they would not
see. I heard their talks by the window and foots running. Upstairs there was a door
hitting. I heard the little mother call upstairs. I heard heavy steps and I rushed to my
bed place. I hit the chain in the wall and lay down on my front.
I heard mother come down. Have you been at the window she said. I heard the anger.
Stay away from the window. You have pulled the chain out again.
She took the stick and hit me with it. I didn’t cry. I can’t do that. But the drip ran all
over the bed. She saw it and twisted away and made a noise. Oh mygod mygod she
said why have you done this to me? I heard the stick go bounce on the stone floor. She
ran upstairs. I slept the day.
XXXXX—This day it had water again. When mother was upstairs I heard the little
one come slow down the steps. I hidded myself in the coal bin for mother would have
anger if the little mother saw me. She had a little live thing with her. It walked on the
arms and had pointy ears. She said things to it.It was all right except the live thing
smelled me. It ran up the coal and looked down at me. The hairs stood up. In the
throat it made an angry noise. I hissed but it jumped on me. I didn’t want to hurt it. I
got fear because it bit me harder than the rat does. I hurt and the little mother
screamed. I grabbed the live thing tight. It made sounds I never heard. I pushed it all
together. It was all lumpy and red on the black coal.
I hid there when mother called. I was afraid of the stick. She left. I crept over the coal
with the thing. I hid it under my pillow and rested on it. I put the chain in the wall
again.
X—This is another times. Father chained me tight. I hurt because he beat me. This
time I hit the stick out of his hands and made noise. He went away and his face was
white. He ran out of my bed place and locked the door. I am not so glad. All day it is
cold in here. The chain comes slow out of the wall. And I have a bad anger with
mother and father. I will show them. I will do what I did that once. I will screech and
laugh loud. I will run on the walls. Last I will hang head down by all my legs and
laugh and drip green all over until they are sorry they didn’t be nice to me. If they try
to beat me again I’ll hurt them.

 I wilL

 

Richard Matheson, Born Of Man And Woman. July 1950, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

This was Matheson's first published story. He was 22 years old.

Photo from Octonation. https://octonation.com/web-stories/octopus-eyes-everything-you-need-to-know-about-cephalopod-vision-story/