Indonesia

Indonesia
BATU, Indonesia. Photo by Jes Aznar

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

five minutes in my kingdom

You go up through a very steep wooden staircase to get to this place. You have to hold on tight to the steel railings or otherwise you will slip. You then enter a dark, windowless room to get to the door that leads to this space. Oh but you have to carry all of your weight so that the rickety floor does not make a sound. The slightest squeak will wake the world downstairs of this age-old apartment.

They are usually still asleep when I go up to this little balcony of mine.

Somewhere in the corner of the dark room, there is a tiny door that leads to this. You have to bend to go through the door just like in the movie "Being John Malkovich" or in the story "Alice in Wonderland."

Everyday, I take five minutes off in this paradise with nothing but freshly-brewed cappuccino. The smell of crisp morning air greets me as soon as I open the door. I sit on the concrete slab and rest my back on a dilapidated wall. I get a perfect view of the clear blue sky. The leaves of the neighbor's Santol tree provide some shade. This space looks anything but blissful but it is my haven.

Welcome to my kingdom. Let's hold hands, close our eyes and see how far this rabbit hole goes.