Daun Yang Jatuh Tak Pernah Membenci Angin by Tere Liye

When I was told I could choose books from an Indonesian bookstore, I quickly thought of a few authors, one of them being Tere Liye. It's a name I've always heard about, but whose works I have yet to read.

Now that I have finished my first one, I understand all the hype. 

This book is about love, one that a person has for someone she considers a guardian angel. One thing about love is that there would be the natural desire to express it and to have the beloved person with us at all times. But like all things in life, we don't always get the things we want. Sometimes our whims and fancy don't conform with reality. 

I, for one, admit that I am rather easily pleased. Simple acts of kindness can steal my heart. As a result, it is a common occurrence for me to fall for people who are kind to me. For this reason, I can relate to the main character,  Tania.

At a young age, Tania who was living in poverty with her mother and younger brother, met a good-natured young man who offered continuous help. He treated them like family and brought them out of poverty.

They were eventually able to self-sustain, but the young man remained close. As they all grew older, Tania learnt that her feelings for the young man aren't just thankfulness, but love. She saw him as someone who lighted up her world and brought her hope. With him around, she only felt warmth, comfort, trust and happiness.

I'll refrain from disclosing the ending, just in case. Reading this has reminded me, once again, of some of the most important things in life that we learn usually only in hindsight. ​

That in life, we only regret the things we didn't do. Looking back, there are chances we didn't take, words we didn't say, things we didn't do, when we could but hesitated and simply let go. Sometimes, we realise this but end up making the same mistakes nevertheless.

The pain of regret is deep - it naturally leads to self-blame, and the difficulty to come to terms with the consequences only concretes the pain. This gave me a hard knock, that I should not live my life with fearful hesitance. If I do, I would have to spend my later days wondering what if I had done this and that - and this I do not want. 

That the effect of communication is magical. It is the key to bonding. I realised that the ability to express our feelings, to open up, to listen, is a gift in itself, without which communication fails, resulting in all sorts of misunderstanding. Without ever confessing our love, there is the pain of concealing it, and the pain of it being unrequited too. Between two broken-hearted ones, knowing that things could have been different had either one said a word would definitely add salt to the wound. Talk things out.

Choosing to conceal our feelings would mean that we are taking the risk of pain, perhaps an endless one. Once we choose this, there is a danger of irreparable damage - to our own hearts, and those of the people we love. It certainly is not easy, but c'est la vie.

That we heal with time. We go through countless hurdles and feelings of all kinds in our lifetime. But not all the things that we go through remain with us to the end. Pain subsides, and in time they heal. Sometimes they take a while, sometimes they cost us almost our whole lifetime. But eventually, they heal.

In time, we will understand why things had to be the way they were. We will admit that a certain thing was perhaps the best thing that could have happened. That one heartbreaking occasion was perhaps the only right option, rightfully taken. In time, we will learn to accept things as they are and move on with our life, hopefully with the wisdom to carry on forgivingly, and optimistically.

It is the sun after the rain that helps humanity remain and keeps hopes alive. And this is perhaps the philosophy to which the title of this book relates. 

I think this went a lot longer than I intended to.  I haven't touched the reason why I understand the hype hehe. I must say, I'm hooked from just reading the first page. That is how good Tere Liye is. He has a way with words  - they are very pleasant to read, even when the parts we're at are tragic.

I have always admitted that the subtlety of Indonesian language really appeals to me. And this is also perhaps the reason why I enjoyed this so much.  

A very beautiful read.