Lost in the Map

This story had its origins in the same conversation that led to Remittance Girl’s Gift Wrapped. Mine took a little longer to get done…   -M

Lost in the Map

“This is the map room. Most of the maps here are centuries old. A few are over a thousand.”

I followed Stefan as he led me between rows of broad map drawers. The room was strictly climate controlled, both cooler and drier than the sweltering summer heat of Florence outside. The map cases looked old, too; dark, worn wood, with brass plates and handles polished shiny with use – maybe centuries of it. Stefan, my impromptu guide, stopped and pulled open one drawer, seemingly at random.

“A map of the world as Galileo knew it.”

I looked down at it, back through time and the layers of experience and knowledge separating my world from then. The open drawer smelled of oil and dust and the chemicals of preservation. Galileo’s world was so much smaller than mine – and infinitely bigger for the unknowns at its edges.  And yet he’d decided to look up as well as down.

I reached toward it – not to touch it of course, but to follow above the coastline of ancient Italy and the Mediterranean. Stefan, who was breaking enough rules giving me this private tour behind the scenes of the museum, snatched at my hand quickly and pulled it away.

“No touching!”

I giggled. “Of course not! I wouldn’t. I was jut… tracing.”

“Sorry,” he said, “Any piece of paper in this room is worth more than my head.” Then, more quietly, “I love it here.” I noticed he hadn’t let go of my hand.

***

This and other stories now available in:

Through a Silvered Lens
by Monocle

ISBN: 978-1-926830-18-6
Published: 7/12/2010
Pages: 80 (pdf)
Words: 26,109
Formats: Adobe PDF, MobiPocket, and ePUB
Price: $3.49