Summary of Here Be Dragons

In the days before her sister was born, Isabella would go to the bakery every afternoon to buy
her mother's favorite bread, and along the way, she might pick some flowers whenever she had
the chance. Isabella followed that routine every day at the same time, with the same amount of
coins and instructions not to speak to strangers, and most importantly, to buy the same pan de
coco that her mother loved to eat at precisely four o’clock p.m. with a warm glass of milk.

One day, a new shop called Here Be Dragons opened in a row of old houses, selling nothing but
maps. This caught Isabella's interest because she had a great passion for maps and even kept
her father’s atlas of the world hidden under her bed. However, despite her love for maps,
Isabella was afraid to enter the new store. Her parents offered to take her there, but she always
declined, scared that seeing all the maps would ruin the mystery and imagination that maps had
for her. Her father told her that the store's proprietor, Mr. Strabo, was a kind old man who loved
maps as much as Isabella did and welcomed her to come by anytime. But Isabella would only
shake her head.

On a rainy day, just a week before Isabella’s sister was born, she finally got tired of using her
father’s atlas. After buying her mother’s pan de coco, she decided to walk past the shop and
secretly take a peek inside. She waited hesitantly for a few minutes, then finally went inside the
shop. Once inside, she found herself in a room filled with antique maps, globes, and atlases
stacked on wooden shelves. Curiosity got the better of her, and she slipped behind the counter
to take a better look. She found a library that seemed to extend forever and had many rooms
connected by staircases. Just as Isabella was about to explore, a young boy wearing a curious
outfit appeared and warned her that she wasn't allowed inside.

The boy introduced himself as Strabo, the owner of the shop. He said that maps were like books
and that everyone needs a map because they help people build their world and their place in it.
Isabella boasted that she already owned an atlas of the world, but Strabo explained that there
were also maps to heaven and hell, to happiness and sadness, and even to imaginary places
known only to dreamers and mapmakers like him. Strabo then offered to make a map of
Isabella, and she eagerly agreed.

Strabo pointed to a painting on the wall and described that his bird, Animaxander, would record
everything Isabella would ever see and hear. His bear, Eratosthenes, would do the same for
everything she would ever touch, and his apple, Ortelius, would lay out everything she would
ever taste in her life. Isabella was excited at the prospect of a new map adventure and asked
how much it would cost. Strabo replied that a map like this was not made in every lifetime, but
for her, the cost would be one bag of pan de coco. Isabella agreed and made the payment.

Strabo clarified that he needed time to make the map and asked Isabella to come back to the
shop when she faced her greatest uncertainty. She asked how she would know that he would
make her a real map, and Strabo replied that a map is true only if you have been there before.
As time passed, Isabella celebrated her one-hundred-and-eleventh birthday and sent her
great-granddaughter Sophia to buy pan de coco for their four o’clock merienda. Isabella
informed Sophia about an old shop named Here Be Dragons, which Sophia had never seen
before, and asked her to collect a map from the owner named Strabo. Isabella had already paid
for the map, and Sophia only needed to pick it up.

Sophia, who was eleven years old, closely resembled Isabella when they were the same age,
happily made her way to the store. Once inside, Strabo greeted her and handed her the map.
The map was secured with a small red ribbon with a label that read: On the Exactitude of
Isabella Ocampo, Age 11. Strabo thanked Sophia for being prompt and informed her that they
had just finished mapping everything a few minutes ago.

After thanking Sophia for her promptness, Strabo gave her a parchment that was rolled up and
secured with a red ribbon. The label on the ribbon read: On the Exactitude of Isabella Ocampo,
Age 11. Strabo also mentioned that they had just finished mapping everything a few minutes
ago.

Sophia returned home and saw an ambulance parked outside their driveway. Meanwhile,
Isabella had a strange feeling of déjà vu as she stepped out of Here Be Dragons, recalling
Strabo's words about the map's accuracy.

As the story ends, the narrator reflects on the idea that a map is only accurate if someone has
been to that place before.