- When one door closes, another one opens.

  - If all are closed, open one.

  - If all are locked, fuck it, find a window.

  - If the windows aren't working, try becoming the Kool-Aid man.

  ---

  I found a town called Maplethorn. No real reason to be here. Just followed the road because it wasn’t swarming with teeth.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  It looked picked clean at first. Windows shattered, doors hanging open like broken jaws. I was about to move on when I saw it—this bookstore. Untouched. Locked, sure, but intact.

  It took me twenty minutes and a piece of scrap metal, but I pried the back door open. The place smelled like old paper and dust. It was heaven.

  That’s where I met Alex. Short hair, wary eyes, gripping a broom handle like it was a spear. They were about to brain me until I told them the password: “Please don’t.” (It didn't work. I still got a bruised shoulder.)

  But something shifted. We talked. Shared some food. Laughed. That weird kind of laughter where you’re not sure if you’re happy or about to cry.

  Alex had been holed up alone for weeks. Tired. Scared. Just like me.

  We cleaned the store together. Shared tips. Made plans.

  It wasn’t love. It wasn’t fate. It was... something. Hope, maybe.

  Sometimes the open door isn’t just a door. It’s a person.

  Someone who doesn’t replace what you lost—just reminds you that maybe, just maybe, you can build something new.