magisternihil's 100-word story for July 25, 2025

magisternihil wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on July 25, 2025. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

They used to say you could find yourself when you were young, maybe in your early twenties. It was a rite of passage, they said, to go out into the world and discover who you were. Must have been nice. That window slams shut at one year now. Some protested that tattooing infants was cruelty, so the government relented and put a pause on the marking until the first year. The babies still had to wear their barcodes, though. So now it's down to the parents. Clothes are easy to change. Tattoos aren't. Choose wisely, parents. There's no going back.

Want to write flash fiction like this? Join the daily challenge at Hectalex.com and discover how powerful 100 words can be.