Elijah possessed a gift; he could map invisible worlds. His maps captured fleeting worlds that only appeared under extraordinary circumstances.
He had drawn the map that led to the elusive city of Lunaris, which only emerged during lunar eclipses. Only in that fleeting moment did the city shine with life, with streets paved with stardust and buildings made of moonbeams.
He had also mapped the mysterious Lake Evodara, which changed shape depending on the emotional losses suffered by the person observing it. If they had lost a loved one, the lake took the shape of a heart. If their hopes had been dashed, the lake stretched out into a long, silent mirror that reflected only the sky.
By superimposing these two maps, Elijah discovered a pattern, an invisible thread connecting the glittering city and the shape-shifting lake. These two worlds, though separate, were intertwined in a secret web woven by the universe itself.
He began drawing layered maps. He superimposed a map of the starry sky onto that of the city of Lunaris. He discovered a constellation with the city’s silhouette. Then, he arranged ancient hieroglyphs following the changing shapes of the lake and discovered forgotten magic formulas.
By superimposing everything, he discovered that he could find all the hidden paths of human life. Hope in moments of despair, courage in fear, inspiration in darkness. His layered maps whispered the secrets of the universe and invited the traveler to discover the hidden threads of existence.
He was a life’s cartographer.
Dave Hangman is the Spanish writer David Verdugo’s pseudonym. He has published stories in some thirty magazines and anthologies, both literary and genre-based, such as Amazing Stories, Philosophy Now!, Brussels Review, Creepy Podcast, Cosmic Horror Monthly, After Dinner Conversation, Space & Time Magazine, History Through Fiction, and Redwood Press’s Superstition.