Dear Nirrimi,
I will never forget the day I met you.
I have been following you for over four years now. I think one of the first blog posts I ever read was the one you were pregnant with Alba. You and your amazing work inspired me from the beginning. After absorbing all your art and all your words for years I was so happy when I found out that you would come all the way from Australia to Europe and host picnics to meet up with all the people who feel the same.
In the morning of the day the picnic was going to take place I did not feel very well. I thought I caught the flu and stayed in bed till midday. I was not ill at all. I was just super nervous and excited. My lover was so kind and motivated me to get up and get ready. I prepared some raw chocolate muffins and packed some chopped up veggies and avocado dip. All the way to Vitabergsparken I did not say a word. As we came closer to the picnic and finally spotted you, I lost myself in a feeling of haziness.
You jumped up from the grass and ran over to us. I could not believe you were really there. You welcomed and hugged us. I just stood there and whispered hello. I was so excited. It felt like I wasn’t there. It felt like I was only watching from the outside of my body as you were standing there in front of me. I had no words and did not know what to say at all. So I just followed you where you offered us to sit down.
With shaky hands I grabbed the blanket from my bag and put it down on the grass. It felt like the most difficult thing to find a comfortable sitting position as I was so nervous. I did not dare to look at you. I cannot remember another situation I was so shy. You started talking to us and I lost my voice. In embarrassment I looked at my boyfriend who finally answered your question. When we told you that we were from Austria, you told us how much you liked the city Graz and how much you enjoyed spending time at the Prater in Vienna.
At the same time I was looking nervously for the little present I brought with me. I handed it over to you and you thanked me with bright eyes. You put on the flower necklace right away and it suited you perfectly in combination with your cute outfit. I still was shy and did not know what to say. I think you ran out of words as well so you moved on to speak to some of the other girls. The thing is, while maybe a lot of the other people may have had a ton of questions, I had none at all. The only thing that mattered to me was to just be there and meet you.
My lover and I finally grabbed some delicious self made food from the picnic and started talking to some of the other creatives. We watched Alba and the girls from First Aid Kit run around acting like zombies and dogs. Time went by so quickly until the rain came and made us all pack our things again and say our goodbyes. Again you hugged me and thanked me and I did too.
I walked away in delight and my head still felt empty. Not yet could I realize who I just spent time with.
Nirrimi, thank you so much for everything. For all your pictures, your words, your inspiration. You are one of the reasons I never gave up on my dreams. You make me keep going and work hard to live a life as a photographer and artist. Meeting you, one of my biggest inspirations, felt like a dream and only pictures prove the magical moments that I experienced in Stockholm on that day.
Lots of love and peace,
Saskia
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