It was a beautiful sunny day and I was walking with my dog, Tádé, when we ‘sniffed out’ a hedgehog. The poor thing could have barely escaped anymore. It was laying on an embankment, on the side of the road, its mouth was oddly open, the light had long left those little eyes… What can one do?
I took a deep breath and pulled Tádé away
– Leave it alone! – I said.
Day after day we passed by the hedgehog, I examined how it changed, how the swollen little body turned into a gutted needle pad. I was wondering, how many times do we pass by death feeling indifferent, numb, like we had nothing to do with it…?
It is a new day, a new walk and the hedgehog is still at its place, but wait, what do I see? a bouquet of withering tulip…
Maybe death isn’t indifferent after all…
Indifference
Oil, canvas, 40×70, 2021. Győr