magisternihil's 100-word story for January 11, 2026

magisternihil wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on January 11, 2026. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

Friends of photographers get used to the fact that one of the eyes they will almost ever be looking at when they talk to their shutterbug companion is the lens of a camera. Before YouTube and vlogging and people documenting their lives there was Stephanie with her Nikon and an insistence that you keep that look on your face for just a second more while she reloads. People were annoyed with it until each year’s end when she gave everyone a beautiful photo book of all the fun they had over the year. With Stephanie in none of the shots.

Want to write flash fiction like this? Join the daily challenge at Hectalex.com and discover how powerful 100 words can be.