Fall Writing Frenzy 2022

I have always been a nervous participant — counterintuitively, even when just clapping along would render me more or less anonymous… and so it is with great trepidation I submit my Fall Writing Frenzy 2022 piece. Many thanks to Kaitlyn Sanchez and Lydia Lukidis for hosting this opportunity. It’s such a fun idea and the community in kid lit is second to none! This is my first year participating but I have loved reading everyone’s amazing entries over the years!

The image that I chose immediately transported me back to my childhood, the smell of wet leaves in the fall and then these words spilled out.

“Picking Apples”

194 words

Irina’s birthday was only a week ago but the fun already felt far away. Before her family had moved away from upstate New York, apple-picking season always started the week after her birthday.

Picking apples was the most fun thing to do once summer ended, while you waited for the snow to start.

Irina would run top speed right into Grandpa’s waiting arms. He’d scoop her up and hoist her high into the branches so she could pick the biggest apple.

There were no apple orchards here in Florida. 

At arrivals, Irina spotted Grandpa first. She raced over to him right away but he couldn’t pick her up anymore. She missed the feeling of flying. She missed the crisp taste of cider and the warm spongy donuts.

“I know we’re friends,” Grandpa said in the car. “But I can’t remember your name.”

“It’s okay, Grandpa. I remember yours.”

They pulled up to the assisted living center. Mom got Grandpa’s walker out of the trunk. “Dad, this is the place we picked out for you, okay?” Grandpa nodded as she helped him out of the car. 

Irina shuffled behind them. She’d rather be picking apples.