Spring 2024 - Recrudescence

Things To Do After My Death

they were tiny pebbles falling from heaven, landed on his head. Was that God sending some sort of sign? He made his way to the police station where, instead of offering a greeting, he announced: I killed my father and I want to turn myself in. It took a long time for the jury to return with the unanimous guilty verdict for voluntary manslaughter. The defense attorney assigned to the case argued that his client acted in self-defense, but Sanyi brushed his lawyer’s deflective attempts aside: With all due respect, I might have murdered my father intentionally, because we couldn’t live with him no more. His mother was inconsolable throughout the trial. Sanyi turned eighteen the day before the verdict was delivered, and that also played a role in him receiving a ten-year sentence. He was sent to the infamous Csillag Prison in Szeged. Sándor Kovács was well-liked in prison, too. He seemed to blossom behind prison walls. Sanyi, what’s with the constant happy mood? asked a fellow prisoner. With all due respect, I really don’t know. Are you always happy? I think I am. The prison guards liked him too and showed favors toward him when, upon request, he started to churn out hand-carved children’s toys—tiny rocking horses, soldiers with bayonets, small statues of the Virgin Mary and Saint Peter—from whatever materials they brought in for him. Initially, he was tightly monitored and could use the small hammer and chisel only in the main office and under close supervision, but he quickly proved to be trustworthy. It became clear that he meant no harm to anyone, including himself, so they entrusted him with the library. He carried around the prison’s well worn books on a handwoven rattan tray. His enthusiastic book recommendations resonated across the long hallways with gusto, as if he had actually read the books he was endorsing. Twice a week a teacher came to the prison and, under his guidance, Sanyi diligently learned the alphabet along with basic 99