Jonah had always trusted maps. They were his compass, his certainty. As a freelance cartographer, he prided himself on precision—lines drawn with the confidence of someone who knew exactly where they stood.
That was before he got lost.
It started as a simple hike, a way to clear his head after a grueling week of revisions on a new topographical survey. The trailhead was familiar, the route marked in his own hand on the dog-eared map he carried in his pocket. He hadn’t thought twice before stepping off the designated path, chasing a better view from the ridge.
But now, standing beneath a canopy of unfamiliar pines, he realized his mistake. The sun had begun to dip behind the mountains, and every tree looked identical to the last. His phone, naturally, had no signal.
Jonah reached for his map, but a knot of panic coiled in his stomach. The very thing he had built his life upon—knowing where he was—had failed him. The lines he had trusted for years had led him to nowhere.
A breeze whispered through the trees, rustling unseen things in the underbrush. He strained his ears, listening for the sound of distant traffic, rushing water, anything. There was nothing but silence.
Jonah took a breath. He knew the rules—stay calm, retrace steps if possible, follow the slope downward toward water. And yet, a small voice gnawed at him: What if this time, you can’t find your way back?
He walked, watching the light fade between the branches. His feet moved automatically, but his mind spiraled. His entire career had been about leading others, ensuring no one else ever felt this kind of fear.
And yet, here he was.
Then—just as he felt the edges of hopelessness closing in—a flicker of orange in the distance. A light. Fire. Someone’s camp.
Relief crashed into him so hard he nearly fell to his knees. He stumbled forward, breaking through the trees into a clearing. A lone camper sat by the fire, a tin kettle steaming beside them.
They looked up, and smiled. “You look like a man who got a little turned around.”
Jonah exhaled a breath that felt like it had been held for hours.
“You have no idea.”
And just like that, he was found.
Michael J McCluskey 