Start your story with someone trying to read a map.

Posted in Fiction on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 35 stories

“The Alaskan Olive Oil Hunt” by Choki Chocat

Submitted to Contest #124

“Tracy….Tracy…. TRACY!!” “Sweet Jesus, what do you want?!” McKinley points to the map Tracy was holding. Daniel was leaning on a pole smoking a cigarette. Four young adults have been standing on a corner for about 5 minutes looking at a map some homeless bum just gave to them. The reason being they were looking for some olive oil, but not just any olive oil, EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil. Only quality ingredients for these food connoisseurs. What did the map have to do with all this? Well, the bum tha...

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“Without A Map” by Sheila Wilensky

Submitted to Contest #124

Without a Map By Sheila Wilensky I took a left on 5th Street and stumbled into the past. Another left onto 4th Avenue, strolling back through the years, I noticed that nearly every business had a closed sign in front. The buildings were constructed of wood -- not of bricks or concrete -- like today. No shiny Priuses, no yellow streetcars, or steel tracks could be seen in the center of the street. In fact, there was no asphalt street. Antigone Books and multiple purveyors of tchotchkes didn’t exist either. Ha, I knew Tucso...

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“Santa Claus’s Secret” by Laura Simmons

Submitted to Contest #124

“Ok, let’s not panic, Bumpkins! The North Pole has to be here somewhere!” Bumpkins was talking to himself, as usual. His GPS wasn’t functioning for some reason, and he had to resort to reading , and at the thought Bumpkins sighed deeply, a paper map! “Great, genius, you’re reading it upside down!” He turned the map right side up, and then saw the problem. He had traveled 90 miles east when he should have been going north- west! This far north, there were few road signs. That was no consolation, though, when he had to be at the Clauses’ ...

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“Mountain Drive” by Catherine Duffy

Submitted to Contest #124

“I think we keep left here” I say, folding the corner of the interstate map. He turns the wheel with one hand while the other rests upon my knee. The windows are open- not too far- but far enough for a few strands of hair to break free of His knit hat. The sharp winter air sends energy through my lungs and even though we’re driving down the freeway, the whole world feels frozen in time. It’s early in the morning- so early that the sunlight has yet to shine through the mountaintops. We drive in silence, neither one of us re...

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“From Fear to Fearlessness” by Mercy Shelton

Submitted to Contest #124

Gary stared at the map as if he had no idea what he was looking at. Nothing about it made sense to him. It was like a mass of scribble on a page. A foreign language he couldn’t decipher. “Where the hell am I?”, he said. He turned his head to look out his driver’s side window just as a massive caravan of sixteen-wheeler semi’s hurled past him going at least 90-100 mph. The gust of wind that whipped off them was so fierce, so strong, it made his rusty, 1985 Subaru nearly flip over on its side. “This is insane,” he said ...

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“For the Love of Maps” by Barb Brown

Submitted to Contest #124

Marjorie hadn't been there that long, but long enough that she had somewhat settled in and had developed her own new daily routine. She was sitting in her comfy chair at the table, a cozy blanket wrapped around her legs, studying the map with a hatpin poised in her hand, her expression locked in total concentration. Maps fascinated her and often occupied a good part of her daily studies; she loved a good map. She preferred her old-fashioned fold-up road map, like the ones on the racks at the local convenience store, and ...

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“The Road Less Traveled” by Lauren Rice

Submitted to Contest #124

I’m pulled over on the side of the road, my hazards flashing red against the pure white snow every few seconds. It’s literally 0º outside and the heat blowing fiercely from my vents is quickly stolen from me by my window. My gloved hands grip the map tightly. I have no idea how to read this thing. Who knew GPS wouldn’t work in the middle of the freaking mountains. My iPhone, the one thing I can always be found holding close to my face, has been tossed onto the passenger seat, completely useless to me after snapping a few shots I plan to post...

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“Swiss Army Man” by Daniel Hafertepe

Submitted to Contest #124

Billy held the map in both hands. A trail of dots led his eye from one hand-drawn clue to the next. The dots and clues zig-zagged across the map from left to right and back until they stopped at the last clue.On the main floor above him, his mother and grandmother argued in muffled tones. It was always about something. Today, they argued about the same “something” that drove Billy to this basement after the funeral two years ago.Back then, he had found his grandpa at the workbench. The old man motioned him from the darkness of the basement a...

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“Bloody forest” by Ethan Grant

Submitted to Contest #124

Trigger warning Self harm, blood This stupid map is going to get us killed, I thought to myself as I tried to read it through my ski goggles. My hands shook like they were going to fall off the snow and the wind was fighting hard to rip us off the mountain. Fortunately, my parka kept me warm and the gear in my backpack was a good reminder that I can survive this. “We’re lost, Adam. My friend yelled in my ear. “You have to admit that now.” It’s been… I-I don’t know how long it has been, but what I do know is that it's been more than a week." ...

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“True North” by EDC& TheThree

Submitted to Contest #124

He knew it would happen, One. Fine. Day. And Here. We. Are., he thought. He really should have brushed up on the life.skills 101 - he thought. He remembers 'How To Read A Map' being in the top 5 life.skills. He thinks. He isn't sure of that. He is sure he had a HUGE.CLUE that day, about three and a half years ago, when he and about four of his closest friends, could not grasp the concept of working a rotary phone. 'Let your fingers do the walking' was only for dialing, not web-surfing? Maybe. He knew that day, about three and a half year...

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“The Secret of the Pocket Watch” by Kelly Steele

Submitted to Contest #124

Before her unexpected death, she gave me a dead pocket watch for the girls to play with. She tried finding a watchmaker that could fix it, but eventually gave up. I forgot about the damn thing the moment I gave it to my girls. It wasn't until I decided to do another toy purge before Christmas nearly 2 years later, that I saw it again. It was thrown at the bottom of their toy bin, or rather on top and it slid through the open crevices, winding its way to the bottom. As I picked it up, the golden steel was alarmingly cold. My finge...

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“Remembrance of Things Past” by Martha Sanipe

Submitted to Contest #124

AgatheShe struggled with the map, giving her shoulder a good heave forward to keep the strap of her ample handbag from sliding off. The strong breeze certainly wasn’t helping as it grappled with her for possession of the map.She had just managed execute a few folds and wrestle the thing into a small, compliant square when she heard someone speak. She glanced up reluctantly from the now subdued map.In front of her stood a smiling man, probably a little older than her father. He was pleasant looking and appeared to be in his right mind. In her...

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“U-Turn” by Esther Andrews

Submitted to Contest #124

“Stay in the left lane.” “In one mile, make a U-turn.” “In 800-feet, make a U-turn.” “In 200-feet, make a U-turn.” My GPS unrelentingly urged me to perform an illegal U-turn while I remained steadfast in my refusal to play along. With all of its intelligence, shouldn’t it know better than to demand I make an unlawful turn? If it can pinpoint my precise location on the entire planet, to the exclusion of all other locations, and knows the location of my destination within just a couple of feet, it doesn’t seem to be a str...

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“Idioma” by Dave W

Submitted to Contest #124

I hate Google Maps so much. I was literally just trying to visit my in-laws in Birmingham, but now I’m trying to read this stupid map in a moving car while the phone is speaking– “MOM, WHY IS IT SPEAKING SPANISH?!” Jason shouted at me. “I DON’T KNOW! PLEASE STOP YELLING AT ME, I’M TRYING TO FOCUS!” I shout back. This always happens to me. Technology is always trying to ruin my life. This is all Billy Gates’ fault, or whatever his name is. “Gira a la derecha en media milla.” says Spanish Siri. I try to switch the language, but my finger s...

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“Riddle of Daedalus” by Roland Hacker

Submitted to Contest #124

“I would gladly trade all of my scholarly titles and awards for greater knowledge and discovery,” said Dr. Howard Fine. The professor currently hunched over his ancient map held four Ph. Ds: Mythology, History, Anthropology, and Archeology. “Of course you would,” said Brandon. “But you really ought to find satisfaction in what you have accomplished from time-to-time. You’re going to burn out your assistants. You could probably be the most famed archeologist in the world by now if you wanted to. Back me up on this, Alyssa.” “It’s true t...

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Start your story with someone trying to read a map.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 35 stories

“The Alaskan Olive Oil Hunt” by Choki Chocat

“Without A Map” by Sheila Wilensky

“Santa Claus’s Secret” by Laura Simmons

“Mountain Drive” by Catherine Duffy

“From Fear to Fearlessness” by Mercy Shelton

“For the Love of Maps” by Barb Brown

“The Road Less Traveled” by Lauren Rice

“Swiss Army Man” by Daniel Hafertepe

“Bloody forest” by Ethan Grant

“True North” by EDC& TheThree

“The Secret of the Pocket Watch” by Kelly Steele

“Remembrance of Things Past” by Martha Sanipe

“U-Turn” by Esther Andrews

“Idioma” by Dave W

“Riddle of Daedalus” by Roland Hacker

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a character in search of something or someone.

Write a story where two characters are playing hide and seek, literally or metaphorically.

End your story with someone finding themselves.

Set your story in a labyrinth that holds a secret.

Contest #124

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

226

Contest entries

147

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: