Tristen Vidlund: A Short Story

Dialogue Piece

Tristen Vidlund

“So where are you going?” I questioned to the younger man sitting next to me. He was probably about 25, or so. “Not sure,” He spoke uninterested. He seemed a bit tired but I’m not about to sit on this 11 hour flight with no conversation. “How do you not know? You are on a plane to go to another continent. Aren’t you planning on going somewhere in specific?” I badgered him. “Nope,” He said with a pop emphasised on the p. “So what countries do you think you’re going to?” I questioned. I noticed that I was being a bit annoying, but there was somebody traveling with no idea where they were going. “All of them,” He responded. “All of them?” I echoed. “All of them,” He assured. “I just don’t understand. Where

The way I think of it, you spend all of your life stressing. You stress over your job, your family, yourself. Isn’t a vacation supposed to be stress free? If a vacation is stress free then why do you stress so much on staying at the nicest hotel and eating the best food. Plus most big cities are gimmicks anyway. You know? If you go to Paris, you don’t actually know what France is like you only know what Paris is like. Nobody ever goes to the small cities where the real culture is. Nobody goes to Astaillac or Hocquelus, but that’s where all of the magic really is. That’s where you see how the French actually live. So anyway, I don’t have plans to go to any specific place because then what’s the point? If I’ve spent so much time researching the place it gives away the surprise factor. I just want to jump around and go where ever I feel is fit to stay at,” He explained. He flashed a smile at the end of his ramblings. I realized how right he was. “Huh,” I was speechless. I never thought about it that way. “You get it?” He spoke. “I do. Now I’m not to sure that I want to go to Vienna,” I replied. “Don’t do it then. Travel with me. I’ll show you what traveling really is.” He offered. I thought about it. I don’t have anything stopping me. “I think I might.” I pondered. What’s the worst that can happen? “How will I pay for it?” I asked. “If you really want something, you’ll find a way to pay for it. Plus you have enough money to go to Vienna? You’ll have plenty