magisternihil's 100-word story for November 8, 2025

magisternihil wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on November 8, 2025. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

The shrink told Carl what he suffered from was called ‘agoraphobia,” which people often mislabeled as ‘fear of open spaces,” but it went deeper than that. It was the fear of being in places where you may be trapped or helpless. Give him a space open enough and he’s fine, but the subway… He stared at the open doors. Doctor Dytt suggested he go at night, when the trains would be less crowded, when the likelihood of a stoppage was minimal, so here he stood. Carl supposed he should have mentioned his fear of machines in the session as well.

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