IN WONDERLAND
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
One day I got a call from an old friend. He
invited me to visit him, so we can talk about old times over beer. Yes, we have
fond memories of our old times and chatting about it over a cold beer is one of
my favourite things.
I booked myself a plane ticket and set out on
the trip with great pleasure. I could hardly wait to get on the plane - I have
always been fascinated by these big tin birds and their flights across the vast
blue sky.
The best part of the flight is actually the take-off:
you hear the noise of the engine getting louder
and you feel the adrenaline rush in anticipation of the start. Your heart gives
a cry of joy, your body suddenly feels alert and you find yourself in a state
of bliss. The only thing you want after the take-off is to repeat it again. But
the flight goes on and the journey has to be continued.
The landing was calm and gentle as a pleasant
rocking on the swing, without any sudden braking. I relaxed completely. I would
repeat it again, but now I wanted to see my friend.
He waited at the airplane tower waving both
hands. He was smiling to his ears, and a bottle of the golden, dewy cold drink
was glowing in his hands. We hugged each other and toasted to our friendship.
I had a strange feeling when leaving the
airport. 'Wait a minute,' I told him. 'What about passport control?'
He smiled and said: 'It's okay. You don't need
it here.'
'What do you mean? I had to show it at our
airport.'
'Yes, I know, but you are no longer in your
country now.'
In my memory I recalled an event from a few
years ago. My dog and I were walking near the state border crossing and after a
while, the road led us to the border control. We were only a few meters away.
'I'm sorry, but we can't go on,' I told him.
He stopped and looked at me with his big brown
eyes. I read his mind and replied, 'We can't go further, because we don't have
the papers with us.' I know that he did not understand me, but we had to turn
around and go back from where we came from.
I thought, 'Oh, how nice it would be to be able
to travel freely around the world and go anywhere you want.' All that remains
of that memory is that the border control still exists, but the desire for such
freedom has never disappeared.
Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think that
this wish would be fulfilled today. I no longer asked my friend questions, even
though I had at least a thousand. I was happy and I felt peace deep inside
myself.
