He opened his eyes. There, lied the sign he had asked for. He had been saving money for months to take this trip to Uganda. Yes, he had done odd jobs, thank God ! Washing dishes in a pizzeria, acting as a pet sitter for spoiled children who wanted an animal without having to take care of it, working as a pillar crane in front of the subway to distribute magazines that would end up in the nearest trash can a few minutes later, playing the clown for these same spoiled children during birthday snacks... In short, no precarious job had been missed and now after months of good and loyal service and restrictions of all kinds, he was able to obtain the grail, the pass to the land of his dreams, I mentioned the plane tickets.
Yet, Florian had never really travelled. He had only wandered here and there in Europe ; a trip to Brussels, a trip to Stockholm, a trip to Vienna to attend rock concerts which he was fond of.
But these trips were always very short and above all... Remained within the security perimeter of Europe and its beloved technological progress. Nothing too adventurous about that.
But Florian, at the age of 23, wanted something exotic. Why Uganda, by the way ? Only God knew that. He had set his sights on this country like one might want chocolate in the middle of the night. Like that, for the experience, and the adrenaline that goes with it ! His project was ultimately very much in tune with the times, the project of a young person who thirsts to put technology at the service of discovering the world, in short a very modern spirit of conquest.
His project had only intrinsic meaning; he did not travel for money, nor for recognition, nor for humanitarian purposes, no. He didn't pretend to either. He travelled just to... Travel. So much so that he despaired of finding in this journey this providence, this destiny which always cast a golden halo over the journey of others. No, his trip was without a specific goal, and that's why he asked for this sign, which would justify his wandering as a looser who collected precarious jobs and maids' rooms in high-standing buildings.
Lying on his sofa bed, he opened his eyes and his eyes fell on the paper airplane that his little nephew had made a few days earlier.
Maybe God had plans for him if he didn't really have any...