by Caelis Thornwyn
Lena found the map in a book that wasn’t supposed to exist.
It was tucked between two blank pages in the back of the library’s oldest volume with no title on the spine, no author listed anywhere. When she pulled it free, it was warm, like it had been waiting for her hands specifically.
The paper shifted as she unfolded it.
Ink moved on its own.
Mountains rose where there had been empty space. Rivers curved into existence like they were remembering themselves. Tiny labels flickered in and out, as if the map couldn’t decide what language to speak.
Then it exhaled.
A soft breath of wind slipped out from its edges, brushing against her face.
“That’s not normal,” Lena whispered, though the library was empty.
A path slowly formed across the page, thin, glowing, and unmistakably leading into a forest that hadn’t been drawn before.
She should have put it back. Instead, she stepped closer. The moment her foot crossed the inked border, the world shifted. The paper vanished.
And Lena was standing in the forest.
The map was gone. The place was real.
And somewhere behind her, the forest began to redraw itself.
Art by Ethel Spowers
About the Author
Caelis keeps things simple, honest, and a little bit quirky, always looking for the next idea to scribble down.