by Michael Bloor

The greatest treasure in the ancient library is the seven-hundred-year-old Mappa Mundi, the largest medieval map in existence. The Earth is shown as a flat disk with Jerusalem at the dead centre; Britain is perched on the extreme periphery, as is the Garden of Eden. Hereford is duly marked.

Prebend Richard, the cartographer, had used gold and blue watercolours and black and red inks. Touchingly, the Red Sea is coloured red. Since it was called the Red Sea, Richard believed the sea was red. He took it to be the literal truth. An honest mistake, just like mine when you told me you loved me too.

---

Michael Bloor is a retired sociologist living in Dunblane, Scotland, who has discovered the exhilarations of short fiction. Recent publications include Spelk, Ink Sweat & Tears, Occulum, The Copperfield Review, Scribble, Dodging the Rain, Everyday Fiction, The Cabinet of Heed, Firewords, and The Drabble.