一张留在旧书店的地图

Mira stopped outside the old bookshop. The lights were on, but the door was locked. She was about to leave when she caught a glimpse of a map on the front table. It showed the river and a little bridge that had disappeared years ago.

She did not recognize the map, but she knew the handwriting beside it. Her friend Leo had written, “Look where the road ends.” Leo had moved away last winter. He had promised to explain why, then stopped answering her messages.

Mira hesitated. Going home would be easier. Then she heard a faint tapping from inside the shop. Three quick taps, a pause, and two more. That was the rhythm Leo used when he wanted to be let in after closing time.

She walked around the building and found the back door open. The shopkeeper was there, packing books into boxes. “Leo asked me to give you something,” she said. She handed Mira a small notebook. Inside were sketches of the bridge, notes about the river, and a letter. Leo had spent the winter helping his father recover from an illness. He had been too tired to tell anyone what was happening.

Mira felt relief, though she was still hurt that he had gone silent. The last page of the notebook held a new map. This one marked a path along the river, ending at a bench beside the water. “Saturday, ten o'clock,” the shopkeeper said. “He hopes you'll come.”

Mira closed the notebook. She was curious about the bridge, but more than that, she wanted to hear Leo's story from Leo himself. On Saturday morning, she took the path by the river.