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| (I won't be packing anything like this.) |
Now, I’ve pretty much always travelled with other people. Travelling
with a family in particular is like travelling in a bubble. My People keep at a
distance the strangeness of a new place and the differentness of other people. They
provide a barrier that means I don’t have to worry about newness and strangeness.
Not very much. My People include someone else to help me interpret maps and
menus, someone else to hide behind.
But this time, I’m fleshing out my nearly-fictional world. I
need that newness and strangeness, without any barrier, without the ability to
hide. I’m travelling all by myself. Not
going with friends, not joining a tour, not meeting people when I get there. A
work colleague of mine today said I was brave. And the truth is, I feel brave. I’m doing something that
makes me uncomfortable, and it’s scary.
How can I use this? I’m looking at The Book of Whispers manuscript, and thinking of my character, Luca.
For him, joining the Crusade isn’t brave because he’s going alone (he’s in an
army of hundreds of thousands) but… he’s leaving everything he knows, with no
idea of when he’ll be back home. No return ticket, helpfully including details
such as how long connections are at various airports, no assurance of being
back in time for a loved one’s birthday. No idea at all, just a feeling that he
has to go.
Jerusalem has called both of us. Luca, back in 1097 and me,
now. So I suppose I'm not quite travelling on my own. I'm travelling with a knight who is very brave (if still imaginary). He has an armoured horse. I wonder if a modern airplane is kind of an
armour for travellers? Certainly not failsafe…
Anyway, each of us armoured the best that we can, and facing
our fears, Jerusalem, here we come.
