magisternihil's 100-word story for January 10, 2026

magisternihil wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on January 10, 2026. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

They gave Jim the hat last year for his birthday, or at least when they assumed his birthday was. He always sat there, on the dock, talking to anyone who would stop long enough about the boats floating by, his own version of aquatic trainspotting. They had tried to offer him a cruise on one of the boats he was so well versed in, but he refused. Turned out his seasickness was so bad that one wobbly shift in a deck dropped him, green-faced and clutching for land. But he’s still “The Captain,” and no one knows more than Jim.

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