magisternihil's 100-word story for April 16, 2025

magisternihil wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on April 16, 2025. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

"What a quaint little clock. You don't see them like this anymore." Tom sipped his tea and stared at the aged, battered face. Deidre smiled, her own tea cooling as she cradled the cup in her hands. *Thank you, it has been handed down to me through my matrilineal line." "Oh, I think your second hand is broken, it's barely moving, like it's stuck between three and four." Deidre smiled. "That's not a second hand. It measures how many men I've killed." Tom looked from his tea to the clock to Deidre's patient face as the hand slowly ticked over.

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