From the Upside Down of the Travel Magazine

Written by: Kalu Onyinye

Onyinye Kalu
Nov 3 · 2 min read

My barefeet pad across the tiled floor while the morning Sun slipped through the blinds. The mug of hot coffee burns my fingers as I switch the cup from hand to hand because it has no handle; it broke last week.

There’s alot of peace and quiet right now, it has been that way for a week and it will continue to be that way for two more weeks. My parents have travelled out without me, they don’t even bother anymore cause they know I won’t go.

They tell me to get a real job but I have a job. Just not to them or anyone else that knows me. Or me me. I’m living a lie that I’m comfortable in so I don’t feel the need to travel along with my parents and they don’t bother to ask anymore.

All I’ve known are four walls for a couple of years now being; the first time I opened my eyes to the light of the world till now that they rebel against the rays of the sun. Of course there have been intervals but I’m mostly within the walls. ‘For your own protection ’, my parents had said. Now they are trying to force me out to travel. I don’t know how their planning works but its shitty.

I knew books from a young age -you don’t just stay between walls and not. So I learnt the art of writing pretty quickly too. I figured out my favourite genre easily enough; adventure and travel magazines -if that’s a genre. Funny how my favourite is the one thing I can’t do; move around for the fun of it.

Sure enough, I wrote on what I read and it looked pretty good so I began to write for a travel blog. I still do. I write reviews and stories on places I have never been to and adventures I have never been on. It pays well.

It is the perfect escape from myself. It lets me hide behind the things I would have loved to do from a young age while letting me hide behind my fear of getting out there. It’s a real job between my safe haven and my four walls.

Revelling in the peace and quiet -and also in underwear just because I can, I pad to my laptop while switching my mug between my hands. I settle before it and type in my next article.

Onyinye Kalu

Written by

From my bed and three pillows, I plan to make history

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