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The Map of Small Disasters

adventure◐ Teen
5 contributors · 3 paragraphs deep

I had to know. I took the map to the harbor and showed it to old Captain Reyes, who'd known Grandma for years. He squinted at the sea star and went pale. 'I'll take you,' he said. 'But you should ask your mother first.' I didn't. We left at dawn.

Halfway out, a storm rolled in fast. Waves slammed the little boat and the map flew from my hands toward the water. I lunged and caught it, soaked but safe. Reyes gripped the wheel. 'The sea doesn't want you to know,' he shouted. 'Still going?'

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'Still going,' I said. We pushed through the storm and reached the star at last. The sky cleared and the waves dropped flat. In the calm water below, I saw the dark shape of a sunken rowboat on the sand. Grandma's old rowboat — the one she'd told me sank years ago.

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Maris Vale
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