Childhood and MJ

I haven't read a children's book for a long time since the Harry Potter series until now. I have just finished reading The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke and well, the book was good. A kind of book that will help you pass through the night and drowse you to sleep and be a child again in your dreams, wandering in strange places you're not familiar with. Actually, I didn't have the intention to read the book, because aside from the fact that I have no time lately for leisure reading, the book reminds me of a painful memory. It was given to me as a gift by my ex. But that was already a long time ago, I guess it's time for me to move on so there it was, I flipped the pages and I read from cover to cover. I was surprised because I didn't feel anything at all upon perusing the book every night. Maybe I have moved on indeed. And I am happy.

The book by the way tackles about childhood. As a child, how we have often wished to grow and become adults faster. Why? Because we wanted to do things our own way without grown ups having a scrutinizing eye on us, telling us what and what not to do. We wanted to be independent, to have an autonomy in every aspect of our lives. We wanted to be the masters of our own decisions, of whatever path we choose to travel. But it is also very ironic that as adults, how we sometimes wish that we could go back to being a child and remain as one, just to escape all the hardships and perils we face everyday. We wanted to be free-spirited, carefree, naive, and innocent again. Free from all the worries that makes this world seem chaotic, harsh, and cold. Scipio and the Conte are the two charcters in the story that represents these contrasts: the struggle to gain independence and autonomy, and the longing of the innocence lost.

I think what Ms. Funke is trying to say in this story is that childhood is like a precious vessel that once broken, it could never be put back again into its original form. It's beauty is destroyed forever. So enjoy it while innocence still holds back the pieces of childhood together. For regrets is a bitter thing of the future.

-oOo-

I would like to pay tribute to Michael Jackson, the king of pop, the man who changed the face of pop music in the whole world, and the man who never enjoyed his childhood. May he rest in peace. His music and legacy will live forever. Amen.