Page 21 - I Live in the Slums: Stories (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)

Why did the man call this place a “wilderness”? Plainly, it was a tunnel under

the slums. If it were really a wilderness, why couldn’t one see the sky?
Whatever. Why should I care? I could tell from his voice that he was the person
who pushed me into the ground. I was too sore to move. I didn’t dare move,
either. If I did, he would push down on my back again with his iron hands. “You
can’t see,” he said. “This is an advantage for us. You can’t see us. Why do you
need eyes in this sort of wilderness? Here you go—Enjoy your dinner”—a round
thing rolled down my neck. I grabbed it and took a bite. It was so peppery that
tears streamed down my face. It seemed like an onion, but not exactly like one.
The person told me that this was what the man of the house where I had lived
had sent to me. That bastard actually remembered me. Deep down, I hoped he
would talk more about the man, but he became distracted again. Whistling, he
stood up and left. I tried moving. All of a sudden, my pain vanished. Could it be
because of this onion? I shed tears as I nibbled the onion. I felt completely
satisfied. Oh, I had to do something: I would excavate! I dug quickly with my
front legs, and before long I had dug out a hole. I kept digging until I was
covered in mud. I hallucinated that I would dig something out. Each time I dug

down, I felt that thing bounce under my claws. What was it? Come on, come
out! Let me see what you are!
Digging and digging—each time, I sensed that something wanted to emerge,
but only mud came out. I had dug one hole, and the thing below still lured me
on. If I could, I would wedge myself into the earth to bring it out. Just then, I
remembered the little guy who was stuck in the hole he had made himself. I had
misinterpreted his scream. Actually, he had screamed from pleasure, but I had
thought he was distressed. What kind of precious magical land was it that could
attract so many animals to dig here! Did digging eventually yield the thing they
yearned for? And what were those people doing here? Hadn’t one of them
handed me the food my old master sent? Perhaps a secret path led to the ground
above. Oh, shit! One of those animals was digging next to me. Uh-oh, he had
broken through my hole. He had come into my hole! This was a quiet guy. I

touched him all over. I actually touched stiff wings on his back. I had never seen
such a strange creature before. I pushed hard. I wanted to push him out, but he
started snoring. He actually fell asleep in my hole. Since my hole and his were
now connected, I took the opportunity to move over into his hole to take a look.
Ah, this thing had dug a tunnel—a tunnel within the tunnel. Were all these guys
doing the same thing? I didn’t dare go far. I sensed danger because I heard
suspicious sounds in the tunnel. Maybe the noise was made by other little
creatures digging somewhere nearby; maybe some things were lurking there.
Who knew? I felt my way back to my hole and stayed there with this guy. I felt a
little safer. Since falling down here, I had never felt safe. Although digging had