diff --git a/vm/std.c b/vm/std.c
index 7853c75e..9521da4f 100644
--- a/vm/std.c
+++ b/vm/std.c
@@ -47,12 +47,13 @@ void vm_std_os_exit(vm_t *vm, vm_std_value_t *args) {
 
 void vm_std_load(vm_t *vm, vm_std_value_t *args) {
     (void)vm;
-    if (args[0].tag == VM_TAG_STR) {
-        *args = (vm_std_value_t){
-            .tag = VM_TAG_ERROR,
-            .value.str = "cannot load non-string value",
-        };
-    }
+    if (args[0].tag != VM_TAG_STR) {
+        *args = (vm_std_value_t){
+            .tag = VM_TAG_ERROR,
+            .value.str = "cannot load non-string value",
+        };
+        return;
+    }
     const char *str = args[0].value.str;
     vm_block_t *entry = vm_compile(vm, str);