magisternihil's 100-word story for May 22, 2025

magisternihil wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on May 22, 2025. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

"Do you play?" The question always filled him with dread. People saw violins hanging on your wall and that was the first thing they asked, and they always asked it like it was a stupid question. Why else would a person have twenty violins hanging on his wall. "I, um, I dabble," he said. He dreaded the inevitable next question. "Let's hear something then." A statement instead of a question. He decided to try honesty. "I...I just collect them, really." She stared at him and started laughing, which was far better than running with her ears plugged, he decided.

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