I couldn't sleep. The map lay unfolded on the desk beside my bed, taunting me with its simplicity. There were no roads, no labels. Just a sketch—mountains, a forest, a river, and a circle marked with an X. It looked like a child's drawing, yet it pulled at something ancient in me.
At sunrise, I stuffed it in my bag.
Lydia was already at the store when I arrived, thumbing through a new shipment of paperbacks. I pulled the map from my bag and held it out to her. "This was in the book. What is it?"
She looked up, startled—but only for a moment. Then her eyes softened. "It's exactly what it says it is."
"A treasure map?"
"If you want to call it that. It's more of a compass, really."
"To where?"
"To yourself."
My laugh came out flat. "Come on, Lydia. What is this really?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she placed a small key in my palm. Cold metal. Worn edges.
"You'll need this," she said. "When the time comes."
"Lydia, what is this? Who are you?"
She simply smiled. "I'm someone who once had a map, too."
The air between us felt charged, and before I could ask anything more, she turned and disappeared into the back room.
For the rest of the day, I couldn't concentrate. Every book I touched, every customer I helped, felt like a distraction. The map burned a hole in my pocket.
After my shift, I didn't go home.
I followed the map.
Or at least, I tried to.
There was a park near the edge of the city—a place I hadn't visited since childhood. I wandered through its trails, holding the map in one hand and Lydia's key in the other.
Nothing made sense.
Until I saw the tree.
It was massive, ancient, its roots like frozen snakes weaving through the earth. On the bark, someone had carved a circle with an X.
My breath caught.
I knelt, brushing away leaves and dirt. That's when I saw it—a rusted metal box wedged between the roots. My hands trembled as I used Lydia's key.
It clicked open.
Inside was a notebook.
My name was on the cover.
In Lydia's handwriting.
I stared at it for what felt like hours, the wind rustling the leaves overhead.
Then I opened it.
And what I found inside changed everything.
there's a saying that says the more you look at the mirror the more you see who you actually wants to be, with your self determination, self drive, I was actually the person they say that words too, signs and decided to look at what was in my hands a letter I know that word somehow change things for the best or become worst, I slit it open and began to read for my self,
let's see how it goes in the next chapter!!! ok then ..