goodbye, bye

Description

A beautiful picture book containing a heartfelt farewell from Kim Dong-soo, author of “A Cold Day,” a requiem for the souls of animals leaving the arduous life of this world, and reflections on the human civilization that has developed while threatening nature and life.

Roadkill, corpses that no one cares about
As the sun sets, a large truck stands in the middle of a dark road. When I saw the headlights turned on, it seemed like I stopped for a moment while running. In the shade across from me, a cat looks nervously in this direction. There's something under the front wheels of the truck. The text is just one line. "puck. “The puppy was hit by a truck and died.”
This picture book begins so intensely and so uncomfortably. This is the story of so-called roadkill, an animal that lost its life after being hit by a car. It's a story about animals living a precarious life on land carved out by humans, and then turning into carcasses lying around on the road with no one taking care of them. No, it's a story about all the innocent deaths in the world, the kind of deaths we frown on and quickly forget about.
I turn the pages again. The darkness deepened. The truck is already gone. Someone lifts the puppy. She is an elderly woman with unexpected dreadlocks, grass-colored clothes, and a wrinkled face. She looks somewhat unusual.

Princess Bari of the 21st century, full of wrinkles and caressing the souls and wounds of dead animals
The grandmother drives the cart and goes home. This is a house that stands alone, buried in deep darkness. The scene that follows is a brightly lit room, with dead animals lying in the room. A snake with its entire body cut into pieces, an owl with a torn stomach and a mess of feathers missing, a frog crushed by a car wheel and flattened like a piece of paper, a weasel... The elk and the black puppy that were hit by the truck earlier have their stomachs ripped open, showing all their internal organs.
The author clearly exposes the animals' wounds. It shows the grandmother who carefully takes care of the torn, torn, and dismembered animals, one by one, all night long. Her grandmother comforts her by speaking kindly to her as if she were dealing with a living animal, stitches her wounds, applies bandages, closes her eyes that had not yet closed, and covers her with a cozy blanket. Her grandmother's soft whispers and her gentle touch carefully wash away the confusion, hurt, fear, and anger that have permeated the animals' bodies and souls. Why? We also feel comforted when we read books.

A fantasy of compassion, comfort, and healing for all the hurting people in the world.
Grandma goes out on the road again. Before dawn breaks, she walks and walks along the dark road that is still far away, and passes through an unknown forest path. At the end of her forest path, a white duck stands as if it has come to meet her grandmother. Eventually, she reached the water's edge and her grandmother placed the animals in her boat. She also lets go of pretty flowers. Where else is this? Is it the boundary between this world and the afterlife?
Beautifully lit lanterns gather together as if to guard a small boat. White ducks pull the boat. A floating boat floats along the gentle waves. Should we say it is a modern version of Princess Bari, a Ssitgim exorcism in a picture book, or a fantasy containing compassion, comfort, and hope for life? A mysterious, unidentified grandmother extends a warm healing hand to animals that have died unexpectedly and to all the hurting people in the world.
An old woman is standing on an empty street with no people or cars. Her grandmother waves her hand toward the eastern sky, which is turning light pink. Her grandmother's gentle touch and her soft voice gently shake our hearts. It is a requiem for the souls of animals who are leaving the arduous life of this world, a picture book containing reflections on the human civilization that has developed while threatening nature and life, and a beautiful picture book that gently pats the shoulders of all living people.