magisternihil's 100-word story for February 5, 2026

magisternihil wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on February 5, 2026. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

“Detective Zahada, there’s a body,” shouted the boy as he burst into the cafe. Mortimer looked up from his newspaper. “Roseanna, looks like I’ll need my coffee to-go.” “Hang on a minute,” said Rosie, bristling at the fact that he still used her proper name after twenty years. “Our population is only 109.” “108 now,” said Mortimer forlornly as he gazed out the window in contemplation. “What’s your point?” “It’s just there’s been a murder a week for as long as I can remember. Don’t you find that odd?” Mortimer shrugged. “It does make it easier to solve each time.”

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