diff --git a/pink/pink.lua b/pink/pink.lua
index 4c8e4a6..4789a59 100644
--- a/pink/pink.lua
+++ b/pink/pink.lua
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ local getParser = function () return require(folderOfThisFile .. 'parser') end
 local runtime = require(folderOfThisFile .. 'runtime')
 
 local function read(file) -- TODO should this be here or in client code? At lease allow to pass an ink content in a string
-  if love and love.filesystem and love.filesystem.read then
+  if love and love.filesystem then
+    if not love.filesystem.isFile(file) then error('failed to open "'..file..'"') end
     local content, size = love.filesystem.read(file)
     return content
   else