Paradise Found | A Hidden Map

“Okay, it shouldn’t be too hard to establish where I need to go! After all, Carnyx entrusted me to find this for him!” Melitta clutched the tea stained colored map in her hands as she reviewed it in the comfort of her cool hotel room before venturing outside. She wasn’t a big outdoorsy type, so when Carnyx brought her the map when she was in the library, she couldn’t say no when offered to watch her two MiniMoos in exchange of checking this out for him while she enjoyed the spa… It was pretty much booked and she was on the waiting list to be called.

Grabbing the backpack she had back in her suitcase, throwing in some water bottles and one of those complimentary, but expensive sandwiches in there. She checked to see if her phone was charged before venturing out of the hotel. Before she left, she rubbed some sunscreen in her hide, and threw in a can of bug spray in her pack. Melitta did tell the front desk that was planning on exploring the jungles with a warning from the concierge to be careful while exploring the depths of the jungle. With tales of the ancient race of Pheromoos may be still inhabiting the jungle.

“Uh huh, um, good to know. I’ll definitely be careful to avoid them if I can. Thank you kindly for the warning.” Melitta said stiffly, now even more terrified to go in the jungle by herself, but a promise was a promise. She would see through it, even if it meant dying to figure where the map would take her. Walking out of the lobby of the hotel, she studied the map to find the two headed looking palm tree that was on the map. Which was in front of the hotel.

“Head southwest from the tree. I need to go until I come to a rock formation in the shape of what looks like a group of Cortals…” Melitta trekked into the dense jungle, making sure to stay the course of the southwest with the help of her phone as a compass. It was humid in there, sweat building up on her brow while her tail tried to swat the pests away from her. She was going to have to check for ticks when she got back to the room. Her hide twitched at the feeling of the bugs crawling under her fur until she came upon the formation.

It looked slightly eroded, with tufts of wild grass growing out of it. It almost looked like it belonged under the water, but was here for some odd reason. Sitting on a rock, she pulled the map back out and half of the sandwich to where else she needed. Next landmark looked to be some sort of lagoon, which shouldn’t be far from the formation. This was northwest with a slight divergence of going south. Cybele, she was lucky one of the adults that raised her taught her to read maps.

She started to notice that the path she was taking looked a little worn, like it was a deer trail. Still following, she traversed the awkward path, avoiding the crevices and cracks that some rocks were buried at. There were times she was afraid of tumbling the downhill trail, but she made it to the bottom with no problem. Melitta didn’t see the lagoon, but she kept her ears open to see if she could hear the water from it. If water could be heard, she would follow the noise of it and find her treasure there! So close on finding the treasure!

Blindly walking around, she heard splashing. Big splashing. The kind you would hear when someone was diving into the water. Her brow furrowing, she came upon a scene to see a few, modern Moos just enjoying themselves. Pulling the map out, this was the end of the journey. A couple of cabanas and a Moo being rubbed down had her reeling… That was until she checked and saw the hotel’s logo in small print in the corner of the map. This was just an advertising piece for the hotel. There was no grand treasure.

A bulkier Moo dress in the hotel’s masseur outfit, “congratulations on finding the secret treasure miss. Your treasure a full, deep tissue massage for 60 minutes. If you would follow me.” His voice resonated that this was just an activity! The map was fake. Landmarks weren’t natural. But whatever. She was going to treat herself and tell Carnyx she fulfilled her promise to him. Tossing her pack on one of the lounge chairs, she went to one of the cabanas to where the table and masseur were, ready to relax and feel the tension leave her muscles after her journey into this little paradise.