The garage door opened and he appeared in the door hug. Without saying anything, he opened the outside gate and sat next to me. He looked worried.<\/p>\n
I made a decision!
\nWorried, I looked at it without understanding. Had he decided to replace me? Did he finally think I was too old to take another big trip? That was my constant fear. Had that day come? I was already preparing my defence, I was preparing to remind him of what we had experienced, all the difficulties we had gone through but also the laughter, the joys, the shivers together on the dirt tracks. Yes, I was determined to defend myself. I dreaded the thought that he might leave with someone else.<\/p>\n
I’ll rename you!
\nI looked at him, amazed.<\/p>\n
Rename me?! I repeated without understanding. \u00a0But why?
\nI saw him take a deep breath, then he said:<\/p>\n
Yes, your name is “African” and this time we’re going to Asia and maybe Australia.
\nI’m just thinking for a second. The argument made sense.<\/p>\n
Yes, a little as if a rally taking place in South America was called the DAKAR, is that it?
\nHe laughed.<\/p>\n
Yeah, you got it. That’s exactly what it is.
\nAggressive, I answered him:<\/p>\n
What’s so funny?!
\nThen without waiting for an answer, I continued:<\/p>\n
And what do you want to call me?
\nExcellent question! What would you like your name to be?
\nHe gets on my nerves sometimes. I grumbled and thought. I was hasardais:<\/p>\n
The Asian?
\nNot very original!
\nAh because the African woman, it was original perhaps?!!
\nYeah, yeah, you’re right, it wasn’t very original either, but keep cool. Oh, my God! You and your damn temper. We can’t tell you, we get tackled right away.
\nYou’re the one who’s talking nonsense! My character has nothing to do with it. You know me, if you’re talking nonsense, I’ll react, don’t be the one that falls from the sky!
\nThen without giving him time to answer, I continued:<\/p>\n
So, what do you want to call me?
\nHe then took a small picture out of his pocket and showed it to me. It represented a horse tied to a small blue chair. This time, I was beginning to ask myself serious questions about my pilot’s mental state.<\/p>\n
One man, Antoine de St Exup\u00e9ry once wrote: “Make your life a dream, and a dream a reality.”
\nYeah, so what?
\nFor some time now, thanks to my book, I have been meeting people who tell me that I am lucky to have made such a trip and that they dream of it.
\nWhy don’t they do it then?
\nBecause they have obligations.
\nObligations?
\nYes, things they are obliged to do or accomplish.
\nI wasn’t sure I understood, so I asked:<\/p>\n
So these things they have to do keep them from fulfilling their dreams?
\nYes, that’s right, except that very often, these obligations are constraints that in the end you impose on yourself. We think it’s impossible to get away from it. Kind of like that horse tied to his chair. He stays there, when he could easily leave and drag the chair behind him.
\nYes, but the chair would stay attached to him.
\nHe sketched a smile.<\/p>\n
Yes, but sometimes you have to know how to fly your little blue chairs to put colours in your life.
\nI was beginning to get what he meant. However, I did not see what he was getting at.<\/p>\n
Yes, I think I understand. But what does that have to do with my new name?
\nWhat we both accomplished more than 10 years ago and what we are going to do in a few months, many in our dreams, but never dare to make it happen. For them, rightly or wrongly, this is utopian.
\nYeah, so what?
\nThat’s why I decided to call you now: “UTOPIA”. Because you are the realization of a dream, of a utopia.
\nMachinally I was rehearsing:<\/p>\n
UTOPIA, UTOPIA. Yeah, I like it. Are we celebrating?
\nHe laughs softly.<\/p>\n
Yeah, if you want, I’ll invite some friends and we’ll have a christening ceremony. Are you happy now?
\nAnd there’ll be champagne like when you put a boat in the water?
\nYes, there will be champagne, I promise.
\nHe got up from his chair and closed the outside gate.<\/p>\n
Suddenly an idea came to me.<\/p>\n
Hey, did you say we were going to Australia?
\nIt’s possible, yes. Why? Why?
\nIf that’s the case, does that mean I’ll have to fly again?
\nChances are, yes.
\nSo they’re gonna put me back in a box, like the first time?
\nIf we’re flying, yes, why?
\nCan you tell the people who make the box to make holes in it?
\nHoles??
\nYes, so I can breathe!
\nYou think you’re a sheep? he replied with a burst of laughter.
\nAnd without waiting, he got out of the garage. A sheep?! Why is he talking to me about sheep when I ask him for simple holes to breathe. Isn’t that legitimate? Sometimes I wonder if he doesn’t smoke things on the sly, it’s not possible.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The garage door opened and he appeared in the door hug. Without saying anything, he opened the outside gate and sat next to me. He looked worried. I made a decision! Worried, I looked at it without understanding. Had he decided to replace me? Did he finally think I was too old to take another big trip? That was my constant fear. Had that day come? I was already preparing my defence, I was preparing to remind him of what we had experienced, all the difficulties we had gone through but also the laughter, the joys, the shivers together on the dirt tracks. Yes, I was determined to defend myself. I dreaded the thought that he might leave with someone else. I’ll rename you! I looked at him, amazed. Rename me?! I repeated without understanding. \u00a0But why? I saw him take a deep breath, then he said: Yes, your name is “African” and this time we’re going to Asia and maybe Australia. I’m just thinking for a second. The argument made sense. Yes, a little as if a rally taking place in South America was called the DAKAR, is that it? He laughed. Yeah, you got it. That’s exactly what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wandering-thoughts-en"],"yoast_head":"\n