The Map That Drew Itself Part 3
He traced-It Retraced.
Some maps don't like being drawn--they prefer to hold the pen.
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The arrow shifted forward each time Elias blinked.
Tracing a city path--
Towards his home.
A route he never walked--but led straight to him.
Ink seeped through the parchment paper, scaling his desk-An uncharted, sentient being.
The street lines converged above the roof of his home, in unsound alphabets--
"Cartographer found."
The pictures on the map warp into a dark pool of ink--
Hands.
Tugging.
A shadow stretched, thin, across the paper.
A single pulse--the historical archives were no more.
Elias found himself swimming in a vast sea--inside the map.
Its waves crashing--
A living being.
A voice.
Not written or spoken.
"Every explorer leaves something behind. It's your turn."
Back on Elias' desk, the parchment lay still.
Untouched by the wind.
The arrow traces a signature--
Elias Maps--Historian. Cartographer.
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Original Microfiction Series by Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin. AI tags are coincidental.
So what happens to our historian? Suggest in the comments!
The Map That Drew Itself Part 1
Part 2
For Mikeydred's October Challenge
About the Creator
Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin
Hi, i am an English Language teacher cum freelance writer with a taste for pets, prose and poetry. When I'm not writing my heart out, I'm playing with my three dogs, Zorra, Cloudy and Snowball.
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Comments (4)
Elias surely became lost in his work. I love the twists and turns of this story and want more!
Well-wrought! He got lost in his work...
Love the way the map is as much in control as the cartographer
The way the map seems alive is eerie and mesmerizing; I love how the story blurs the line between reality and imagination.