Kwartsoog had made a new map.
That happened more often, but this time it contained places even he did not know.
West of Denkdorp lay Dwaalstad. Below it began the Ideaalstreek and at the very edge of the paper, in small gloomy letters, stood:
Doemgehucht
Achterland was on the back.
According to Kwartsoog, that was logical.
‘How do you get to Dwaalstad?’ Mr Tersake asked.
Kwartsoog pointed at a thin, winding line.
‘Via the Paardeweg.’
‘Why is it called that?’
‘Because a horse once walked there.’
‘Horses have walked on almost every road.’
‘That is why there are so many wrong Paardewegen.’
Tersake decided to appoint a committee.
That same afternoon he left with the Gangster, who happened to be passing through and liked going his own way. At the village boundary stood a signpost.
Dwaalstad 7 km
Dwaalstad 11 km
Dwaalstad lost property
They took the middle route.
After roughly four kilometres they reached Watermeter.
Watermeter was not a place, but a man in a blue uniform sitting beside the road on an upside-down bucket. A narrow ditch flowed in front of him.
‘How deep is it?’ Tersake asked.
Watermeter looked at the water.
‘Today?’
‘Of course today.’
‘Then you will have to return tomorrow. I only measure yesterday.’
That explained very little, but he said it with such conviction that they thanked him and continued.
The Paardeweg led through Achterland. It was remarkably quiet. Even the birds seemed to know something they preferred not to mention.
Halfway along they found a sign:
You are leaving Achterland
The other side said the same thing.
They walked for another hour and kept leaving Achterland.
By evening they saw the first houses of Dwaalstad. The streets ran in tidy circles around the centre. On every corner stood a map with a red dot and the reassuring message:
You have probably been here before.
On the square sat the local signpost.
‘We are looking for the centre,’ Tersake said.
‘Then you turned off too soon.’
‘Where?’
‘In Denkdorp.’
‘But that is where we left.’
‘Exactly.’
The Gangster considered that an excellent answer and went his own way.
Tersake remained alone with the map. He turned it over, unfolded it, held it to the light and discovered a small note Kwartsoog had added at the bottom:
Anyone who finds Dwaalstad has not searched properly.
Tersake sighed.
‘Then we will go to the Ideaalstreek.’
The signpost shook his head.
‘It only exists in policy documents.’
‘Doemgehucht, then?’
The square fell silent.
A window closed.
Someone pulled a child indoors.
The signpost leaned slightly forward.
‘If you go to Doemgehucht, whatever you do, do not ask for directions.’
‘Why not?’
‘Then they will know you are on your way.’
Tersake looked at the map.
Straight ahead, the Paardeweg returned to Denkdorp. To the left began an unnamed path. To the right stood a fence with presumably nothing behind it.
He chose the unnamed path.
Not because he knew where it went.
But because he was slowly beginning to understand that, in this region, it was the most reliable route.
The next morning a new sign hung at the entrance to Denkdorp:
You reach Dwaalstad by taking a wrong turn.
Underneath, someone had written in pencil:
Doemgehucht too. You just notice it later.
Yes, these are real names. Probably.