Mapnought

The Prompt

Invent a word, then write a microfiction story that encapsulates its meaning.

Mapnaught: noun: The state of something or someone that is present and functioning but is no longer seen, used or thought of.

The music is "Map Ref 41 Degrees N 93 Degrees W" by Wire

It Becomes Mapnaught

It could be a village cut off by a road bypass, people used to drive through, but speed between two bigger towns was required, so a new road was built.

People no longer stopped at the village for petrol or food, or to have a drink in the pub. All the places were still there, but most people now didn't know it existed, and some were never aware of it.

It was still there, but without the trade that it had lost, it may one day become a village of ghosts, truly mapnaught.

The guy who maintains the facilities in the block of flats. People used to talk to him and say hello, but now he is shunned by new tenants just because they don't know him and you never know what he might do, so he keeps himself to himself but still keeps the flats in top order. If he wasn't there they would soon wonder why things weren't getting done, why things were stopping working, but they would not know that it was the man they shunned and ignored that kept things going. He had become mapnaught.

There are things in drawers and garages that may stay there forever because they have become mapnaught. Your own house is probably full of such items.