The Last Execution by Jesper Wung-Sung

“Simon! Simon! Simon!”; he can smell a particular tobacco that reminds him of that time when he found a cigarette case on the road, picked it up, and put it back where he’d found it—only to turn and see it taken by another; it ought not be possible, but the boy is sure he can hear the dog; the hill is black with people, but again one man stands out—he twists his upper body, looks down, and lifts his elbow, and a whine pierces the noise as the man kicks the dog lying at his feet; the boy realizes that it was right here where he once sat with his father to rest his broken body; finally, he sees a birthmark on the executioner’s hand and that the sun is already lower than it stood before. The boy thinks that everything happens so unbelievably slow, yet so unbelievably fast. Also this is something he has felt before:
    The river water is surprisingly warm, and he swims easily upstream, with effortless, powerful strokes.
    Then there’s a thump against the back of his neck as the raft drifts in. He grabs hold of it, crawls up onto it, and lies on his back with his hand under his head; lets himself be led with the stream.
    His body dries in no time under the sun. A fly lands on his knee.
    The raft drifts gently down the river.
    S after S after S.
    After the next S,
    he catches sight
    of the dog on land
    three legs and
    a wagging tail
    he lifts an arm
    and waves
    with a boy’s
    hand so slim
    and sunburned
    into the
    next curve
    he sees his father
    tall and straight
    like a soldier
    he salutes
    before the girl is
    on the bank
    tousling
    her hair
    she throws
    a flower
    red leaves
    like a roof
    he cannot
    grab
    hold
    of
    them
    he looks up
    she is standing there
    and smiling
    her hair is
    so black
    so shiny
    that he still
    thinks
    there
    you
    are
    before
    the last
    swing

Author’s Note
    On February 22, 1853, fifteen-year-old Niels Nielsen was executed, sentenced to death on charges of arson and murder of the sheriff’s little son. It was the last execution in Svendborg, Denmark. Gallows Hill still exists. At the top of the hill there is a bench. From here, you can sit and look down over the town. Just to the right of the hill is a kindergarten, the Parrot, attended by my two sons, Jeppe and Jacob.

JESPER WUNG-SUN G is Denmark’s most-read young adult author. He received the 2010 Danish Ministry of Culture’s Author Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Books. His young adult novel Kopierne was awarded the Danish School Library Association’s Children’s Book Award. He lives in Svendborg, Denmark, with his family.
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