Le Journal #8 : Meeting Andrea Hirata
Sunday, June 14th, 2015
Four words: WHAT A FANTASTIC DAY!
This is my very first time in my whole life to meet one of my favorite authors. Meeting Andrea Hirata was a dream-come-true moment which will surely be engraved in my mind forever. Because he is such a great man. Yes, he definitely is.
Truth be told, I didn’t know much about him, and I still don’t. I never read his novels before and I’m currently reading his newest novel titled “Ayah”. Other than that, none. Then, how could it be he’s my favorite author? Simply because in his novels, I find gems. I discover treasures. He writes so beautifully. And his words, all of them, are precious, like I can keep them and stick them on the wall of my room. I love his every word, even the simplest. They give me inspirations. Makes me want to write as soon as possible.
And when I met him, saw him in person today, he stole my breath. Not in oh-my-god-he-is-so-freaking-charming way, but in a more terrific way. It was like, he was the very personification of his words. All those beautiful words embodied him in an actual form and that was very sacred to me. He spoke, he smiled, he made jokes, he interacted with people, he was real. So real before my eyes. The only things I could do was staring at him like he would vanish if I took my eyes off of him even if it was just a second long. He was a funny man. But what caught my attention was his modesty. He is still the Andrea Hirata whom you met seven years ago. He doesn’t really change. He only grows better and better everyday. That much I can tell.
-To be continued-