‘My hard work did pay off!’ This was what appeared in my mind when I was told that I had won a competition. The prize was spending a day with Michael Jackson, ‘The King of Pop’.
As one of his die-hard fans, I have watched numerous music videos of his, such as ‘Dangerous’, ‘Heal the World’, ‘Beat it’ and perhaps the most famous of all, ‘Thriller’. Nevertheless, I had never got the chance to really meet him in person, let alone to spend a day with him, until that day.
I remember I arrived at ‘Neverland’ 15 minutes earlier but Michael had already been there, beaming and waving hands at me. He looked taller, thinner and paler than he was on TV. I was really surprised that such a famous pop star would welcome me at the entrance himself. We started our day by first having brunch in a high-end restaurant. When the waiter came and asked what we wanted to order, I simply asked him to give me a cup of coffee as I was so nervous that I had no appetite. Michael noticed that and told me just to relax. He also ordered a cup of coffee. We had quite a long conversation. We talked about a lot of things, such as how all of his music videos were produced, how long he had practiced dancing and how he felt in his first concert. He was willing to answer these questions, and even cracked some jokes at times. However, when I tried to ask questions concerning his father, he seemed to be reluctant to reveal anything and said it was about time to leave. His father must have hurt him a lot, I thought.
We then went to an antique shop. Michael had been very fond of antiques. Looking around for about a minute in the shop, he then started to point at the antiques that he wanted to buy. When we left the shop, it was almost empty.
After that, we headed back to ‘Neverland’, where we later watched ‘Peter Pan’. There were rumours that Michael had harassed his visitors while they were watching films, but he did not do this to me. Instead, he just focused on watching the film. After the film was over, he even played his music video, ‘Thriller’. When I looked at the Michael next to me and the one on the video, I suddenly realized that Michael was not young anymore.
After enjoying the film and the music video, it was time for me to say goodbye to him. Before I left, I said, ‘Michael, thank you very much. Take care!’ He smiled and nodded. A few hours after my visit, Michael was found dead in his house. I was really devastated to know that even though he had so many fans worldwide, he still felt lonely. That day, Michael might seem to be ridiculous, buying almost all the antiques. Indeed, this childish behavior reflected his innocence despite the fact that he was already fifty. Rest in peace, Mr Peter Pan!