Anna Frayer

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2022

Stories (6)

6 Stories

109 karma pts

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“Along Came a Spider” by Anna Frayer

Submitted to Contest #263

In the total darkness of her cell, sound was the Spider’s only link to reality. There had been smells at first, but the human nose can become desensitized to even the most offensive odors, and her nose became as blind to them as her eyes to sight after the first few days. It was so dark that she stopped wondering if her eyes were open or closed. She had explored every inch of the cell with her fingertips, even climbing straight up the wall to the ceiling, which wasn’t very far. It was nothing like scaling the walls of a castle, as she had do...

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“Luck” by Anna Frayer

Submitted to Contest #168

“No, no, no, no, no!” Jack cried, the panicked desperation in his voice rising with each word as the train chugged out of the station in great white clouds of billowing steam. He ran along the platform, arms outstretched as if he might catch hold with his fingertips, but it was already out of reach. “No!” he screamed once more, this time in anger, and pulled up short where the platform dropped away. He snatched the hat off his head and twisted it in both fists as he watched the train disappear around a bend, taking with it all of his dreams....

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“Dragonscape” by Anna Frayer

Submitted to Contest #167

Dren was blind, his nostrils filled with the acrid smell of burning wood. He tried to breath and fell to his knees coughing. When he caught his breath, he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. Slowly his eyesight cleared, but all he saw was a gray haze. Standing, he shuffled forward, boots scuffing across the hard ground. The smoke gradually began to clear, until he could make out shapes in the distance. He moved on, stumbling now and then over the uneven ground. The smoke continued to thin, and the sky took on a reddish cast. The sha...

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“The Why of Things” by Anna Frayer

Submitted to Contest #165

Ben shivered as the spider crept dangerously close to his nose. He could see its spindly legs pluck at each filament as it made its way across the web. Ben's mother always told him he shouldn't be afraid of spiders; that they were more afraid of him than he was of them. But this spider didn't seem afraid of him at all. He hated to admit it, but considering how frightened Ben was, and how not frightened the spider seemed, he could only assume his mother had been wrong. And if she was wrong about the spiders, what else might she be wrong about...

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“Door Number Two” by Anna Frayer

Submitted to Contest #164

Hey there! You must be new here. Welcome! The name’s Artemis, but you can call me Artie. Don’t be scared; I won’t bite. Ha! See what I did there? Not in the mood to laugh, I see. Can’t say that I blame you. I guess you’ve had kind of a tough day. I get it, I do. It’s rough out there. Been out there myself. Matter of fact, I was born on the streets. There’s just about nothing I haven’t seen. This place might not look like much, but trust me, it’s a far cry better than being out there. Sure, it’s crowded, and noisy, and smelly – oh the smell...

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“Paper Doll Dreams” by Anna Frayer

Submitted to Contest #162

“Manchego. That’s the secret,” Cobb declared.“What the hell is Montego?” asked Brooks.“Manchego. It’s a cheese. And it’s the secret to the world’s best grilled cheese sandwich.”“Everybody knows grilled cheese is made with yellow cheese.”“What kind of cheese?”“You know. Yellow cheese.”“Yellow is a color, not a cheese.”“Sure it is. It’s cheese…that’s yellow.”“I don’t care if it’s purple. You haven’t lived until you’ve had my grilled Manchego with honey butter. Honey butter is the secret.”“I thought Montenegro was the secret.”“Manchego.”“Would ...

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Author bio

After 30 years of writing - but never quite finishing - epic fantasy novels, I'm trying my hand (or rather, my pen) at short stories. I'm new to this and still getting the hang of it, but it's my hope that it helps me to hone my writing.