Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Anna Frederiksen-Washington

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2022

Stories (37)
Comments
Library
11 Followers
0 Following

37 Stories

565 karma pts

?

A secret in the shed

Submitted to Contest #242

Tom had not been long in the small town but had already established a name for himself as a skillful gardener. The skills he had learned on the mainland as a horticulturist came in handy here in the remote part of Tasmania and the customers appreciated innovative ideas for a more sustainable garden. A few of the old residents needed a hand, especially with the heavier tasks, and Tom was always happy to oblige. What his customers did not know was that he would take a photo of them which he kept on his computer in the shed, using them as a mod...

7 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Northerly

Submitted to Contest #240

The last step creaked as Tom walked down the staircase. It was there to remind him that it had to be fixed before somebody stepped through the old wood. But not today. It was far too hot already although the sun had only just come up over the saltbush horizon. He did not get much sleep; it was almost impossible to fall asleep on these hot nights and it was the fourth day now in a row with temperatures around 40 degrees. You would think you would get used to it out here where there was little shade from the scorching sun, but the heat always ...

10 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Miranda and the blueberry bush

Submitted to Contest #239

Miranda did not have a good day at school. She knew already in the morning when she put on her new shoes that the other girls would tease her. They always did when she wore something new. The black shoes were comfortable, and she liked the zip as opposed to shoelaces. It was so much easier. She knew they were expensive; her parents usually bought good quality clothing. Mum said to ignore the girls when they teased her and said it would get better when she started her second year. But this was grade two and it had not got better.- Look at you...

8 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Life in a small town

I leaned the powder blue vintage bicycle against the old shed. For a moment I was taken back through the years to when I was a young girl, around about thirteen years old riding my bicycle through the cobbled streets of Amsterdam. I smiled to myself. That was a long time ago. Now after all those years ago in another land and another time the smell of the rosemary that I was cutting brought me back to the present. I was trimming the rosemary plants in the garden section of the nursery and the beautiful scent was strong and intoxicating. I lik...

1 like 0 comments 0
Read story

A Lucia to remember

Submitted to Contest #232

A Lucia to rememberWith the passing of time, you have the luxury of perspective, and those moments you shared with others long ago take on a different meaning. Usually, it is the nice things we remember pushing the more unpleasant moments behind. I was born in a small rural town in the heart of Sweden. Warm, long summer days and cold, dark, snowy winters. Frozen lakes, skiing and skating, building snow men and watching the snowflakes fall outside my window, imagining the world outside. Traditions were something we held close to us, especiall...

7 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The First Snow

Submitted to Contest #227

November is a very dark month in Stockholm. This year it had seemed longer and more depressing than in previous times. Peter would drag himself out of bed in the mornings and found it hard to get motivated to start a new day. It was dark when he went to work, and it was dark when he finished at the end of the day. It was not welcoming to come home to an empty, dark cold house and he found himself longing for the change of season. This Sunday morning was different. The first snow had fallen during the night and now as he stood in the verandah...

5 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

The Birthday Party

Submitted to Contest #221

The darkness was absolute. All she knew was a feeling of confinement. She could not move, and she could not breathe. There was the smell of damp rancid earth permeating the air. Then she awoke. Carina laid in her bed for a long time, staring into the half-light of a new day that was only just dawning. It was the same dream with the same feeling of absolute terror in which she felt no escape. Where did it come from and what did it mean? She could hear the birds beginning their morning song outside. Those beautiful little birds. She knew every...

8 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Owlva

Christmas at my grandparents’ house was always special. The food preparations started weeks ahead with the making of sausages from the meat my grandfather brought home from his butcher shop. Gran grinded the pieces in her hand-held meat grinder, added spices and pushed it through another machine which filled the intestines. We tied string in sections making sausage shapes, some were small, others bigger. My grandfather, being a butcher, used to say he would never buy a readymade sausage from a shop as he knew exactly what they put in it, and...

1 like 1 comment 1
Read story

Corner of the Eye

Submitted to Contest #219

Corner of the eye One of Darren Fishers first memories was of a tiny wooden glider. It represented much of his childhood. His family was poor, and it was not so much what he had as a child but what he did not have, that he remembered the most. The glider was brightly painted in the widow of the toy shop. When he had asked his mother if he could have it, she looked at him with sympathetic eyes. “I am sorry, we can’t afford to buy things like that. You need important things like socks and shoes. Perhaps one day.” He knew instinctively that d...

5 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Yabbies and Dill

Submitted to Contest #218

Yabbies and Dill There was an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables on display at the Central Market and Emma paused for a moment to take in the scent of freshly cut blood oranges, grapefruits, limes, and lemons. The smell of citrus was seductive and hard to resist so she picked out a handful of blood oranges for her basket. The skin was thick enough for easy peeling and the fruit felt firm in her hand. Mangoes were just in season fresh from Queensland, they spoke of a coming summer and laid perfectly cut in small cubes on the tray in fr...

8 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

You can't judge a book by its cover

You can’t judge a book by its cover The chair creaked as Cheryl stood up and stretched her hands above her head. She had been sitting too long in front of the computer and her neck and back had begun to ache. It was not a good sign and she knew it would prevent her from a good night’s sleep again. The library was relatively quiet at this time of the year when all the assignments had been handed in and the university closed the lecture theatres. Most of the students did their work on-line now and the library was not used as much as before. ...

0 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Once upon a town

Once upon a town1963 was an interesting year. John F. Kennedy had just been assassinated, the civil rights movement was growing, and Marthin Luther King delivered his famous speech “I have a dream.” The Vietnam War had started and there was a new band called The Beatles.Jean walked slowly down the main street towards the post office. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and the shop owners were busy putting out the racks with summer frocks and colorful pot plants. She nodded briefly as she passed them.- God morning, Mrs Bently.- Lovely day, Mrs...

0 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Tree in a matchbox

Submitted to Contest #198

Tree in a matchboxA private school in Australia in the sixties entitled a child to a one-on-one learning basis. That is how Simon’s education started. His parents worked hard to pay for his fees. A blue cap with a matching blazer, embroidered with the emblem of St. Michaels became his first uniform. A small boy in a world where everything had its place and the world outside appeared strange and confusing. A cloak room that smelled of brand-new leather satchels and banana sandwiches.It was during this time he began to explore the books in the...

8 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

My Beautiful Sunflower

Submitted to Contest #191

My Beautiful Sunflower It was early April and one of the last very rare Indian Summer Days where the light and warmth dressed the city in a final promise of summer. Lisen was looking through the florist window on Jetty Road, trying to decide what flowers to buy for her friend Carina’s funeral. She felt sad and strangely weak inside and somehow the flowers did not bring that sense of comfort and strength she had hoped for. She looked at the roses; red, pink, yellow and white and thought of Carina walking through her rose garden with the se...

7 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Odd ball Emily

Odd ball Emily “Speak now.” Emily felt a nudge and looked up at her mum who was sitting beside her at the table. “Come on, out with it! What do you think you were doing?” She looked around and they were all looking at her now, waiting for her to say something. She could feel her face turning redder than the tomatoes on the plate in front of her and she wanted to sink through the floor. There was no way out. “Come on Emily, you have got some explaining to do. What’s going on?” Her father lent towards her and his voice sounded angry. Why di...

0 likes 0 comments 0
Read story