Unnerving Reality

I find this unnerving. I just realized that most Indonesians have this annoying habit of saying, "Asyik, selamat, makan-makan dong!" upon hearing good news from others. Not just unnerving, but it's also annoying. I myself am the type who loves to celebrate. With my loved ones, naturally. However... this kind of sentence always makes me feel uneasy. What should I do? If I do nothing about it, they might say, "Pelit banget sih! Rezeki kan harus dibagi!" If I treat them somewhere, they might say, "Padahal gue basa-basi doang loh..." or "Lain kali, traktir lagi yah?"

A few days ago an acquaintance of mine SMS-ed me. Apparently she just heard that my second book, Belanglicious, was going to be reprinted. She wrote in the SMS:"Selamat, keren deh, pasti dompetnya makin tebal. Uang berlebih jangan dianggurin. Traktir-traktir dong!"

I was furious. Partly, because she added another message saying that I could write easily, effortlessly, that I should share my money with others--meaning, her! And also because she had the nerve to ask for my books--for free.

Maybe she thought I had a book fairy waving her wand for me, then... KABOOM! A manuscript appears. I don't need to go to the office, wasting my time from nine to five there. I work at home, don't I? Surely my work can't be that hard!

If your opinion is like this, then, YOU'RE WRONG!

I wrote my books with all my heart and soul. The creativity sparks cost me a lot. I don't just snap my finger, then a novel will be ready to be delivered to the publisher. My gift of writing comes with a price. Maybe most people do not know that I often neglect myself in order to write. I sometimes choose not to eat. At times I even forget to bathe. I have to wear glasses now. I'm not as healthy as I once was. I often write from night till dawn (that means, longer than routine 9-5 work!). Sometimes I feel a pang of sadness knowing my assistants or parents seem to bond more with Aza. To put it short, HARD WORK! I also have to SACRIFICE many things to keep on writing. Yes. That's true. You might not like knowing about it. But I've been silent for a long, long time, it's time for epiphany.

True, I have free copies from my publisher. But what makes people like you (read: the acquaintance) think that you deserve a free copy? My free copies are for the ones I really love and care. The ones who have supported me in writing long, long time before I published my books.

And sorry, dear, you are not one of those people.