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Start your story with someone trying to read a map.

Posted in Fiction on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 35 stories

In Search of the Perfect Place

Submitted to Contest #124

“Come on, darling, we have to choose a spot.” I knew this was easier said than done. I knew the God of Tragedy too well. After several millenia, I should. It had been a hard year and while the energy was positive about getting back to theatre, it came with a heavy dose of depression. Any moment, they would snatch the map from me, not to try to make a decision, but to slow down the process entirely. But before they could, I closed my eyes, roved my finger around the map and let it settle at random. “The United States! Wonderful, we could see ...

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Black Lines

Submitted to Contest #124

It was just a few black lines on a white cocktail napkin. Or what had once been a white cocktail napkin. It had faded, marked by time. It had been folded and unfolded. It had wiped away a tear or two. There was a stain left behind in one corner, sticky and dry at the same time. But the written lines were unblemished. Simple and neat. The pen that made them hadn’t bled as it marked out a path for me. If I was only brave enough to follow them. It should be so easy. A left turn here. A straightaway. A right turn there.  A starting point a...

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Murder and Manga

Submitted to Contest #124

"We can see Princess Pearl if we go to Ballroom A this afternoon," Cam said. His eyes twinkled as he ran his finger across the convention map. The white silk of his glove slid over its glossy surface with ease. His smile faded as he furrowed his brow. "But if we go to Ballroom C, we can meet the creators of the Dark Phantasma comics.  At least, I think that's who we'd meet, anyway." He brought the map closer to his face as he squinted. "Which one should we go to?" Hank rolled his eyes as he turned to face him. He huffed and snatched th...

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A Journey Worth Traveling

Submitted to Contest #124

The worn, creased paper is soft against the rough pads of my fingers. Growing up, I’ve watched my dad fold and unfold this mysterious form of directions more times than I can count. Some are born with a sense of direction, like my father. I was not. Flipping it one way and then another does little to help with which end goes up. The lines cross, circle and swirl, blend and divide, and a dull ache forms in my head from staring too long. Is that a road or a river?A buzz in my pocket signals an incoming text, reminding me how easy it would be t...

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Lighthouse

Submitted to Contest #124

Landon adjusted the brightness on his phone and examined the mapping application that had, for most of the ride, navigated him through the winding and confusing roads of the Rocky Mountains. His worst fear came to life: the map was not updating. The budget data plan he purchased a few months before didn’t hold up in the wilderness of Southern British Columbia. It was about seven now, and the sun began its slow descent behind the horizon. “Keep your eyes on the road.” Nathalie had her arms crossed, eyes closed. Those were the first words...

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