magisternihil's 100-word story for April 26, 2025

magisternihil wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on April 26, 2025. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

Pa tells me I’m on a fool’s errand. Uncle Billy says I have my head in the clouds, but at least I’m fishing. Ma just tells me to be sure to drink water and bring home anything I catch. They don’t know about the book. I found it in the attic when I was looking for Grampy’s old dancing bells. The words were all jiggly at first but then they made sense. I collected my worst nightmare, soaked it in fresh tears, and fed it to the second worm I found. I’ll catch that serpent. Then we’ll see who laughs.

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