The Map of Thistlewood (First edition)

A Partial Map of Thistlewood

While examining the books stacked upon the table in the library beyond the Blue Window, a loose sheet of paper slipped from between the pages of an atlas.

At first I mistook it for a blank page. Only when I held it up to the light did I notice a faint coastline traced across its surface. The original map of Thistlewood still lay open on the table before me. The sheet appeared to be a copy of that larger map, though incomplete and considerably faded. For reasons I have never fully understood, the loose sheet found its way into my pocket before I left the cottage.

Years later, it remains one of only two tangible things I possess from that curious afternoon. The other is a small slip of paper discovered inside one of Mossquill's books, though that is a story for another time.

Using the faded outline as a guide, I have attempted to reconstruct what I remember of Thistlewood. Curiously, the coastline was the easiest part to recreate. The interior remains frustratingly uncertain. While a handful of names return readily to memory—Rosecourt, Cloverfields, Diamondmere, Spadesmoor, Mushroom Grove, and Mossquill Hollow—many details seem to hover just beyond recollection.

For now, this is the most complete version of the map I can offer. It is undoubtedly unfinished.

As further memories, stories, and fragments return to me, I shall continue to revise it. Whether the map is slowly returning to memory, or whether I am merely imagining the missing pieces, remains a matter of some debate.