magisternihil's 100-word story for February 21, 2026

magisternihil wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on February 21, 2026. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

“Maybe it was aliens. Snatched him up so hard his boot fell off?” “No, this was spontaneous combustion, clear as day!” “How did he burn up completely and leave just a boot?” “Duh! I said spontaneous. It just - POOF! - happened quickly.” “One boot was fireproof and not the other? That’s nonsense!” “And aliens make more sense? At least mine could happen!” “ALIENS COULD HAPPEN! I SAW IT ON TV!” They could go on like this for hours, even coming to blows. I didn’t have the heart to tell them it was a fallen planter. They were having too much fun.

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