magisternihil's 100-word story for July 9, 2025

magisternihil wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on July 9, 2025. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

Evan took a deep breath and sighed it out. He loved the smell of old books. There was something comforting about it. It was hard being new to a town, but things were looking up now that he found a good used bookshop to wile away the hours in. Who needed people when you had worlds to explore between the covers of books? He heard a loud sigh and peeked through the shelves. The light from the windows made her practically glow, and then she noticed him and smiled. "I love that smell, don't you?" she said. "It's so comforting."

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