thaopixelpoet's 100-word story for July 26, 2025

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

The train ride to Lisbon seemed to pause in black and white. I was acting busy with a Travel + Leisure magazine in one hand, iced mocha in the other, but my eyes would try catching glimpses of the passengers with a simple question of what their lives looked like. It would help with my ongoing novel. And then, her. Vanessa? Somehow, this stranger reminded me so much of my daughter. Her slight slouch forward as she got carried away in thoughts tasted of vodka, leather, and a logical insight of why I shouldn’t pursue a writing career. I still am.

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