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Yolanda Wu

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

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804 Followers
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34 Stories

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To Gift a Plum Blossom

Weekly Contest #105

Zengmei poked her earlobe with her gold demon-spike of an earring a good five times before she finally found where the hole was and pushed it through. Her maid, Tian Wen, was looming over her, carefully gathering the top part of her hair into a jade comb carved with peonies. It was the one Song Fenghai – second son of the Song Sect of Lushan – had given to her as an engagement gift. The wedding was due to occur a few weeks from now. It was a wedding of necessity. Zengmei had no interest in love anyway. Her sister, Ruilan, had taken a child o...

66 likes 41 comments 41
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Borne From Blood

Weekly Contest #98

Trigger warning: Mention of rape, suicide and abortion Ruilan never thought she would ever reach a point in her life where she was meditating on a river. It was very cultivator-like of her. Surrounded by the fresh fragrance of bamboo leaves, and the gentle lapping of the river, she was beginning to understand why her parents – the great leaders of the Jia Sect of Yunhe – always meditated; it was good for the qi. “Lan’yi!” She had been so deep in her meditation that such a voice was enough to startle the rickety boat into almost tipping its...

39 likes 39 comments 39
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Red Tea Dream

Shortlisted for Weekly Contest #94 ⭐️

Trigger warning: Drug use, gun violence, metaphorical reference to loss of a baby. Your fingers brush on my clean skin, dirtying it like dust on a canvas. The blood is so starkly red; I will believe it if you tell me it’s not blood at all, rather your red lip rouge. The one you carry on you in that little gold tin. You apply it to your lips with your pointer finger and that hand mirror a man dressed in black had given you on your first night at the Red Lotus. The man told you that he liked your phoenix eyes and thought the silver mirror ma...

75 likes 63 comments 63
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Autumn Rain

Winner of Weekly Contest #91 🏆

Trigger warning: Talk of self-harm and suicide Have you ever had this feeling? Like you’re a helium balloon with your string cut. A rotting piece of wood adrift in the vast ocean. Does saying it like that make me sound too pretentious? Thinking I’m some kind of literary youth. Of course I’m not. I’m just sad. Sad people tend to be under the impression that they’ve been possessed by Li Bai and suddenly know the gruesome secrets of the universe through a few lines of poetry. Second year of university; my life is great. All the sad things from...

490 likes 432 comments 432
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Crown For a White Rose

Weekly Contest #86

The King of the Dead rose from his stone coffin with the tattered tangles of his once-royal robes hanging from his limbs. Bandages to cover up the damage of his ruined skin. He pushed his matted hair from his face, his crown nowhere in sight. He walked on the snow-covered cave floor, ice crunching under his bare feet. He inhaled. Breath whistled into his cold lungs. The air was spiced with a faint flowery scent. An insignificant sting punctured his chest. Wind snaked through the tears in his clothing. Humming faintly, he pinched the jagged...

54 likes 33 comments 33
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Flower Eyes, Crystal Stars

Weekly Contest #80

He was down in the sky-room on the night his mother died. It was a basement built for the end of the world. There were reinforced walls and almost complete darkness. The circular panel of glass on the ceiling was the only reason the room wasn’t a swallowing void of black. He could watch the sky from underground. He had no understanding for the reason the basement was built. Was it so that when the world ended, everyone could watch through their circular panels how the sun engulfed their Earth? As he inspected the night through that little sl...

55 likes 57 comments 57
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The Arabesque Girl

Weekly Contest #79

Content warning: suicide I pray every morning even though I’m not a religious woman. There is no rhyme to my prayers. I have no reason to believe that unknown deities are watching over me. Or read books discussing deep, philosophical knowledge of the universe that I will only pretend to understand. But it’s a ritual, part of my morning routine, so I keep it up. It brings me comfort, which I suppose is enough. My sister, Aubrey, is sitting on my kitchen counter, trying to fix her hair with the murky dishwater as her mirror. She has always...

48 likes 21 comments 21
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Under the Azure Sky

Weekly Contest #78

Evandar had been enjoying her tea when the palace guards rudely interrupted. They walked into the room in their uniform manner, then got down on one knee with their heads bowed. Her maid, Milla, came rushing in behind them. “Your Highness,” Milla and the guards said at the same time. Evandar kept sipping at her tea. “Yes, what is it?” she asked, trying not to let her annoyance show. She didn’t have the energy to deal with this. She had gotten up, put on her best clothing and jewellery, did her make-up all nice with the pure intention of stay...

48 likes 26 comments 26
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Those Flowers Like Snow

Weekly Contest #77

Cress had learnt long ago not to be enticed by a mermaid’s song. How the notes twisted and tangled as it floated into the ear, filling the mind with nothing but a bliss of wonder and insatiable desire. Large aqua eyes fluttered with the shimmer of glittery lashes; silver ringlets swathed an ivory torso. “You faerie, are no fun,” she hummed, brushing her hand against his; her skin was soft, a few water droplets slid onto Cress’s knuckles. “Although you don’t quite look like a faerie, even though you are. It’s the air about you.” Cress didn’t ...

42 likes 52 comments 52
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Cross My Stone-Cold Heart

Weekly Contest #76

Cress coughed, blood dripping onto the hay. His sky-horse remained curled up beside him – all Cress had to do was give the command, and he would attack, but that probably wasn’t the best strategy at the moment. Lizin stood before him, the pacing of his steps were enough to make anyone nervous. But Cress had stopped being scared of him a long time ago. Kes stood at his side, fist ready to strike Cress again. His wings were pressed uncomfortably against the barn wall, the chains slowly grinding at his wrists. It was just plain metal – not ir...

53 likes 67 comments 67
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Rhythm of the Waves

Weekly Contest #75

Olive knew of rapid heartbeats. Shortness of breath. The sting in the air that pricked his skin. The wind that slapped against his cheeks. The people he had walked past mere seconds ago were now blurs in the corner of his eyes. His entire family was here - his mum, his dad, his stepdad, his two brothers. It was surreal. Blue was standing in front of him with a cerulean suit to match his eyes. A white rose in his breast pocket to match his shirt. His silken hair was pulled back into a bun like the day they had met. Two well-intentioned curls ...

52 likes 47 comments 47
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The Man Who Gave His Heart to a Stranger

Weekly Contest #74

The coolness of the night air wasn’t helping with his insomnia. It was chilling. Made goosebumps prickle against his skin. If anything, it shocked him awake, rather than making him drowsy. He needed one of those hot, sticky summer nights where the air was sluggish and lethargic. He rubbed at his eyes. They were stinging and bloodshot. Every fibre and muscle within him wanted to collapse and take him to the blissful realm of sleep. But his mind was buzzing with energy. Too much. Too many thoughts running through his head. Running wild. Banged...

59 likes 48 comments 48
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The Peonies On Her Dress

Weekly Contest #72

Kalana lifted her undershirt over her head, then tossed it into the grass where her other garments lay. She told Kyo-mei she was a hunter, which explained the thick leather armour and worn down boots whose laces appeared to be endless. It was an odd affair how the two of them ended up travelling together in the first place. They were both going to the emperor’s palace for the royal wedding. To be perfectly honest, Kyo-mei didn’t know exactly which child of the emperor was getting married – he had a good fifty children between his twenty conc...

45 likes 27 comments 27
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A Bottle of Red Rum

Weekly Contest #70

Kier twisted the quill, not even noticing how the ink dripped onto the parchment and bloomed across the page like black blood soaking through thin fabric. A bundle of claustrophobic feelings choked his throat – the more he tried to swallow, the worst it became. He tried to write, but his hand was trembling too much – unshakable spasms. Dear Lentan… The ink smudged. Dear Lentan… Too illegible. Dear Lentan… I deeply apologise. No. My most sincere condolences. No. I understand you do not want to be hearing from me. No. Kier rubbed at his temple...

49 likes 21 comments 21
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Sunrises and Sunsets

Weekly Contest #68

Did I ever tell you that I love writing sunsets? Ever since I started dabbling in writing, I was ever so intrigued with the way the sky turned from blue to orange, rolling through with red – I loved to add the description ‘specked with gold’. My best friend wrote a poem called ‘Sunsets With Apollo and Artemis’ because we are obsessed with Greek mythology. It is an entail of the beauty of sunsets. concerning sunsets. apollo dipped beneath the mountains and artemis rose in the night. their meeting seemed to cause some magic that wove co...

59 likes 80 comments 80
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