by Olivia
You ever stare at one of those old maps? The kind with dragons at the corners and oceans that just... fall off? "Here be monsters," it says, like fear is just a footnote. I used to think those maps were wrong. That they were drawn by people who ran out of courage before they ran out of ink. But now? I think they were right. Because I've seen what's out there. Past the safe zones. Beyond the known. It's not dragons, not really—it's the truth. And the truth is messier than any monster.
I walked past the edge of the map once. I laughed in the face of the compass, told the stars to go to hell. I thought I was brave. But what I found out there—it didn't scare me because it was dark. It scared me because it looked like me. Same eyes. Same voice. But no rules. No mercy. Now, on a map I made, you’ll catch me calling to the monsters: “I’m home.”