And in a fit of midnight hubris, I had archived the old bookmarks into a file I named "bookmarks_old.html" and then… deleted the original set from the browser, thinking I would just re-import the clean version later.

:

Look at the left-hand sidebar menu; "Bookmarks" is usually located between "Lists" and "Premium".

Depending on which platform you are using, your bookmarks (or "saved posts") are located in different menus. Here is where to find them on the most common platforms:

I checked Chrome. Firefox. Edge (why do I even have Edge?). I checked my work laptop, my phone, my old tablet that takes ten minutes to boot up. I searched "bookmarks" in every cloud drive. I whispered to Alexa, "Where are my bookmarks?" She played a song by The Beatles.

You know. Just in case.

Then I found it. The link.

A single folder stared back at me: "To Read Later (2016)." Inside? A recipe for kale smoothies and a guide to building a birdhouse. I have never liked kale. I am terrified of power tools.

I renamed the folder: "Do Not Touch, Ever, Seriously."

A digitized manuscript that contained a reference to a hidden room in a castle I was writing about. My heart thumped. I hit . Saved. Bookmarked. Safe.

I searched for that folder.

Defeated, I opened my browser history.

Nothing.