When I was about twelve years old, I was so curious that it was very difficult to follow and control me. If I wanted to know or see something, there was no way of stopping me from doing it. And above all, I wanted to travel. As I was little, I couldn’t go very far away by myself, but I would sit on the bus and let it take me in any direction it pleased. I lied to my parents that I was going to see my friends, but instead, the bus would take me far-off for somebody who was that young.
So, one day I decided to go to Pula, a picturesque town situated in Istria, in Croatia, rich in history. I didn’t know much about the place, but I would stop people in the street and ask them to teach me more about it. There was the Arch of Sergians that I really liked so I would pass underneath it several times, imagining myself to be some kind of a female Caesar, even though I was just a disobedient little girl. However, what enchanted me the most was the Roman amphitheatre, which we called Arena. I thought it was the most magnificent site I had ever seen and therefore returned to Pula several times afterwards just to see it again. I recall getting myself some food and then sitting in the middle of the Arena in order to observe it better. Most of the times I visited it I was its sole visitor, but that never bothered me. While I sat there, my head would be swamped with the images that I had developed in my mind thinking about the Arena’s history. It was the place where the slaves came to entertain the Romans who were deciding on their sort – who had complete power over those slaves. The slaves were their merchandise and the affluent Romans could do anything with them; sell them or let have them killed. «How horrible», I thought, «that such a superb monument bears such a morbid history». And since my first encounter with the Arena this idea has dwelled in my head not wanting to leave me alone.
I once spoke to my mum about it and she told me the legend, which has been passed down from one generation to the next. If the legend is to be believed, fairies decided to build the Arena one night. They carried stones from the mountain Ucka and the whole of Istria all through the night, rushing to finish their job before dawn. Suddenly they heard an unexpected morning cock-crow, and frightened by the sunlight left the Arena uncompleted. As it is today – without a roof.
Then one day, many years later, the idea came to me about the «The Destiny Book». I was just about to pass my metro ticket through the machine to catch my train thinking about my life and all that it had reserved for me, when the little discovery lamp switched on in my head and told me: «Nataly, I have an idea for your book.» This is exactly how it all started. Given that the Arena inspired me, I decided to personify it and name the girl who had saved the town in my book after it. But then, I needed to think of a name for the boy who was going to help Arena and save her from the Queen and the Creatures, and I just couldn’t bring any name to mind. I was desperate to find her saviour, so I went on reading the Arena’s history and then came up with this very captivating story. At one point in the sixteenth century, the Romans decided to destroy the Arena and use its stone to construct another temple in Rome. However, there was a senator called Gabriele Emmo who disagreed with this idea and put his foot down about the proposal. Through this, he saved the Arena and in a way allowed me to get inspired about my book. In order to thank him for doing so, I decided to use his surname as a name for the boy who saves Arena in my book and becomes her husband later on. So, Emo saves Arena in reality and in my book too.
I’ve always believed that if we have been sent to this planet, it is because we need to complete a precise mission, which is not revealed to us (like the Sudba Creatures never unravel the mystery of their decision about the child’s destiny), but we need to figure it out alone during our lifetime. Some people say that there are gods who throw dice when creating our destiny; others argue that our race has been conceived in a laboratory….
I personally don’t like to look at things that way; I prefer to concentrate on the mission that I have been entrusted with and make it a good one.
And I would like to believe that part of this mission is to give life to the «The Destiny Book» and entertain my readers with it.
So, one day I decided to go to Pula, a picturesque town situated in Istria, in Croatia, rich in history. I didn’t know much about the place, but I would stop people in the street and ask them to teach me more about it. There was the Arch of Sergians that I really liked so I would pass underneath it several times, imagining myself to be some kind of a female Caesar, even though I was just a disobedient little girl. However, what enchanted me the most was the Roman amphitheatre, which we called Arena. I thought it was the most magnificent site I had ever seen and therefore returned to Pula several times afterwards just to see it again. I recall getting myself some food and then sitting in the middle of the Arena in order to observe it better. Most of the times I visited it I was its sole visitor, but that never bothered me. While I sat there, my head would be swamped with the images that I had developed in my mind thinking about the Arena’s history. It was the place where the slaves came to entertain the Romans who were deciding on their sort – who had complete power over those slaves. The slaves were their merchandise and the affluent Romans could do anything with them; sell them or let have them killed. «How horrible», I thought, «that such a superb monument bears such a morbid history». And since my first encounter with the Arena this idea has dwelled in my head not wanting to leave me alone.
I once spoke to my mum about it and she told me the legend, which has been passed down from one generation to the next. If the legend is to be believed, fairies decided to build the Arena one night. They carried stones from the mountain Ucka and the whole of Istria all through the night, rushing to finish their job before dawn. Suddenly they heard an unexpected morning cock-crow, and frightened by the sunlight left the Arena uncompleted. As it is today – without a roof.
Then one day, many years later, the idea came to me about the «The Destiny Book». I was just about to pass my metro ticket through the machine to catch my train thinking about my life and all that it had reserved for me, when the little discovery lamp switched on in my head and told me: «Nataly, I have an idea for your book.» This is exactly how it all started. Given that the Arena inspired me, I decided to personify it and name the girl who had saved the town in my book after it. But then, I needed to think of a name for the boy who was going to help Arena and save her from the Queen and the Creatures, and I just couldn’t bring any name to mind. I was desperate to find her saviour, so I went on reading the Arena’s history and then came up with this very captivating story. At one point in the sixteenth century, the Romans decided to destroy the Arena and use its stone to construct another temple in Rome. However, there was a senator called Gabriele Emmo who disagreed with this idea and put his foot down about the proposal. Through this, he saved the Arena and in a way allowed me to get inspired about my book. In order to thank him for doing so, I decided to use his surname as a name for the boy who saves Arena in my book and becomes her husband later on. So, Emo saves Arena in reality and in my book too.
I’ve always believed that if we have been sent to this planet, it is because we need to complete a precise mission, which is not revealed to us (like the Sudba Creatures never unravel the mystery of their decision about the child’s destiny), but we need to figure it out alone during our lifetime. Some people say that there are gods who throw dice when creating our destiny; others argue that our race has been conceived in a laboratory….
I personally don’t like to look at things that way; I prefer to concentrate on the mission that I have been entrusted with and make it a good one.
And I would like to believe that part of this mission is to give life to the «The Destiny Book» and entertain my readers with it.
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