A Map of Small Wonders

A young mapmaker inherits a map that only reveals places when someone needs to find them.

An unfinished coastline

There was no island on the map yesterday.

Elian was certain of this because he had spent most of yesterday drawing the coastline in a very expensive ink, and he remembered every bay. He remembered the smear where his sleeve had caught the northern cliffs. He especially remembered the empty stretch of sea where, this morning, a tiny island had appeared.

It was drawn in his grandfather's handwriting.

Elian held the paper to the light. Nothing. He turned it over. Nothing there either, apart from the words his grandfather had written before leaving: A good map tells you where you are. A better one tells you what you have missed.

The bell above the shop door rang. A woman in a rain-soaked coat stepped inside, holding a photograph of a lighthouse.

“I was told you could help me find somewhere,” she said.

On the map, a light began to blink.

An illustrative excerpt written for TaleFinch. Continue it in your own words.