The Hedgehog

I was walking up my street on my way home from work when I kicked something hard on the pavement. THUD.

I looked down and thought it was a football (who'd left one in the middle of the pavement?), only to realise that upon further inspection it was a rather plump hedgehog. I can't recall seeing one before, certainly not one in the wild.

The hedgehog, curled up into its ball, stayed still for a while. Bending down to inspect it closer in the darkness, my bag made a shuffling noise and the hedgehog stirred; I watched it mesmerised for a while; praying that I hadn't hurt it and simultaneously wishing I had my camera. A minute later, it scuttled further down the street into the light of a street lamp where I had opportunity to study it further.

What a beautiful and extraordinary creature. It looked just like the ones I'd seen in cartoons and books, on TV and immortalised in porcelain or wool. Except, this one was all the more special because it was real and right in front of me and I had walked into it (I'm so sorry).

Spending a little more time with it, I then raced inside and got my camera, raced back outside, went back to the spot. It had vanished.