Map of the World | Teen Ink

Map of the World MAG

By Anonymous

     He walked with a jump in his gait; heartbeats tap-danced in his chest and were echoed in each step. Every step was a step toward a future he wasn’t ready for. On his face was a plane of fresh, flat skin; on his hands, stories; on his fingers, words; his lips, kisses; his eyes reading the writing on the wall but not wanting to hear the message. It’s your turn now, son echoed off his eardrums, pounded on his anvils, stood in his stirrups, beat with his hammer, and swirled through the canals to his brain. His mind buzzed with everything that surrounded him: the cool ground that touched the tips of his big toes as he dragged them, prolonging the inevitable; the red flags that fluttered behind the lines of soldiers that pre- vented him from stepping to the side and fleeing his fate; the mile-long walk; the guns that glistened, unused but poised to bite at a kneecap or elbow; the looks of calm respect in the soldiers’ eyes because they knew their job: protect the young man, with his head shaved so close that the only shadows were of the little pebbles of hair that dared peek out, too scared to face the masses; the mile-long walk that was now only a quarter of a mile; the slapping of his sandals on the cobblestone; the look that would undoubtedly be on the Emperor’s face.

The Emperor’s face, rippled with oceans of wisdom, ridged with mountains of knowledge, a map of the world on his face, words as smooth as silk on his tongue, hands that tingle the skin, shake a little, have rivers of veins snaking their way along their lengths, tributaries of blemishes and scars wrapping around bones that have been hurt and bruised, loved by a woman with eyes so deep in love, so deep brown, so thoroughly encompassing, that when they fell upon the Emperor, his thoughts were grains of sand on a beach, swept away to the depths of the sea, maybe to resurface when he did from her eyes, alive and breathing and ready to grow old with her. Ready to be a leader, to lead his nation, to learn his traditions and to raise a family who would appreciate the crevices in his face. The map that details everywhere he’s been, and predicts, tells where his son, the future of the nation, will go: from Japan to Russia to America to France, to fall in love and writhe in the pain of hate, to feel the hunger of his people and to bathe in the gluttony of his own wealth, swimming in the fact that one day he would die.

And the young man who walked one mile from his room to the steps of the palace, lined on both sides with thousands of guards; with red flags flapping and symbolizing a new dynasty; with sandals shuffling in fear, in anticipation, something the Emperor wouldn’t understand because he outgrew that emotion decades ago. He would take his place, would feel the cool waters of the brook that ran through the palace, would fall in love with a pretty princess from another province, would go places, would experience things and would become a map, an atlas, a picture of the future and a picture of the past. On the steps as a blank canvas, his almond-shaped eyes full of questions that would only be answered by sitting on the Emperor’s throne, by growing up, by being the future, by excelling beyond his yesterdays and becoming tomorrow today. The writing was on the wall, he just didn’t want to read the message.



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This article has 33 comments.


i love this !

WOW. Amazing. Great job!!!!!!!!! I loved it.

Darktress said...
on Aug. 10 2016 at 3:55 pm
Darktress, Tucson, Arizona
0 articles 0 photos 59 comments
depends on what im reading

on Aug. 10 2016 at 3:43 pm
Amberleaf BRONZE, Tucson, Arizona
1 article 0 photos 127 comments

Favorite Quote:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder-Molly Bawn

Srry not talking to you I'm talking to dont

on Aug. 10 2016 at 3:43 pm
Amberleaf BRONZE, Tucson, Arizona
1 article 0 photos 127 comments

Favorite Quote:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder-Molly Bawn

Also no-ones stories are petty except maybe yours

Darktress said...
on Aug. 10 2016 at 3:42 pm
Darktress, Tucson, Arizona
0 articles 0 photos 59 comments
? who r u talking to ?

on Aug. 10 2016 at 3:42 pm
Amberleaf BRONZE, Tucson, Arizona
1 article 0 photos 127 comments

Favorite Quote:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder-Molly Bawn

Don't Be So Rude and it's Don't btw

on Aug. 10 2016 at 3:38 pm
Amberleaf BRONZE, Tucson, Arizona
1 article 0 photos 127 comments

Favorite Quote:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder-Molly Bawn

Wow I love this story... and I bet @Darktress will too

Flippy said...
on Oct. 7 2015 at 10:04 am
Flippy, Houston, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
Dont be an old man yet, not unless you are in a money chanle

This is an awesome book. good job

Gideon GOLD said...
on May. 28 2015 at 7:39 pm
Gideon GOLD, Harbeson, Delaware
10 articles 4 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Who can say if I've been changed for the better, but because I knew you I have been changed for good." -Wicked, Broadway

Whoa, whoa. No need to fight. But please, everyone, be nice. Writing is difficult, and no one is perfect. We don't need to pick on those who state it or those who don't.

on May. 28 2015 at 2:05 am
Live4jc PLATINUM, Pensacola, Florida
21 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
That man is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose-Jim Elliot

Love this...great job! Definitely keep it up(:

on Apr. 14 2015 at 9:16 am
landpearl BRONZE, Shallotte, North Carolina
4 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Now I will believe that there are unicorns."
-The Tempest

serisuly?, if you're going to be a hater, just go away. Or at least spell correctly.

on Feb. 7 2015 at 2:33 am
vamika_s PLATINUM, Gaborone, Other
39 articles 0 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Colour my life with the chaos of trouble"

Brilliant work!

on Nov. 16 2013 at 9:08 pm
Deej6595 BRONZE, Billerica, Massachusetts
3 articles 0 photos 369 comments

Favorite Quote:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

This is a really great piece. I will definitely read it again. I like both the perspectives of the son and his father. I also liked how you tapped into their emotions and the timing is perfect.

on Apr. 3 2013 at 6:31 pm
AcrossTheUniverse BRONZE, Hondo, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 60 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Go confidentally in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've always imagined." -Thoreau

Extremely well-written piece! Your imagery and figurative language was absolutely phenomenal.

on Mar. 6 2013 at 4:06 pm
Don't you acknowledge that this is high time to receive the personal loans, which can realize your dreams.

so_joy SILVER said...
on Mar. 6 2013 at 10:24 am
so_joy SILVER, Navesink, New Jersey
8 articles 0 photos 722 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Be the change you want to see."

Amazing work! Superb job! Please read, rate, and comment on my poems! It would mean a lot:) Thanks!

on Jan. 10 2013 at 12:03 pm
MarieAntoinette2014 DIAMOND, Scottsburg, Indiana
54 articles 2 photos 237 comments

Favorite Quote:
Isn't it ironic? We ignore the ones who adore us, adore the ones who ignore us, love the ones who hurt us, and hurt the ones that love us.

Hey Dont, who exactly do you think you are? No writers stories are petty. I find it petty that you have such a bloated sense of self confidence that you feel the need to break down everyone else!

Osesie SILVER said...
on Dec. 31 2012 at 8:56 am
Osesie SILVER, Abuja, Other
8 articles 0 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
Christ in me, the hope of Glory!!!!!! -The Holy Bible.
Just cuz every one does a thing doesn't make it right.

this is a nice piece!!! I love the imagery and the irony and the techniques with which you wrote it.

MountEverest said...
on Dec. 24 2011 at 1:29 pm
Sorry is it really too much?