All Comments on 'Beneath the Watchful Ginkgoes'

Didn't read this nor rate it, excepting the intro about the gingko biloba tree. Here are some other facts (since that intro aroused my curiosity):

(Quora) "...the asteroid that hit the Earth and terminated the dinosaurs released over 100 million megatons, which is about 100 billion times more powerful than the two nuclear bombs released upon Japan at the end of World War 2!" Turns out that impact released energy "10 thousand times the world's nuclear arsenal." (NASA) It keeps memory sharper by increasing blood flow, also contributing to vein and eye health (Mount Sinai). Likely the biggest interesting tidbit is that it is known as a 'living fossil', the Ginkgo biloba is one of the world's oldest living tree species: it was around 350 million years ago (Eden Project). In many tales of Asian mythology, ginkgo biloba leaves represent pure love and eternal commitment. Like the intertwining halves of the Yin-Yang symbol, the two symmetrical, fan-shaped lobes of the ginkgo leaf merge at the petiole as a sign of harmony amidst opposing forces. (Issuu) In China and Japan the ginkgo has deep cultural significance. There it represents longevity and endurance (Tyler Arboretum). Finally, "Tradition has it that if you catch a ginkgo leaf as it floats to earth, you'll have good luck," (UNH)

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How neat is that? Your readers can determine which of these apply to this story.

Wanda it is good to see you post a new story. Your stories never fail in making me cry, this one was no exception. When Becca called Astrid. Lizzy I felt Astrid's reaction was a bit harsh. It was understandable that she was hurt, but Becca was just coming awake. Thankfully Becca texted her happy birthday. Thank you. For sharing.

Thank you for writing. I think this is currently my favourite story of yours.

I don't think there is anything you've written I haven't given 5* to.

Your stories follow the same structure. The introduction to characters and falling in love.

The problem.

The Reconciliation and happily ever after.

If I ever dared to criticise your absolutely perfect prose, then it would be because these are short form the problem is usually solved too fast.

Here there was almost a year. Becca was wasting away. A living ghost. Some of your tales the problem is resolved before we've had time to let it settle.

So the reconciliation had more weight and the ending even happier.

I loved it and wished I could give more than five stars.

Thank you for writing.

Ps

My arboriculture lecturer told me Gingko are the only broadleaf conifers. So they are unique.

Your stories always move me to tears ... both joyful and the other. Please never change that. And ... Thank-you.

Thank you for letting me beta read this story Wanda. It was a privilege. The ending is perfect ♥️

Your stories are an immediate must read. They never fail to stir the emotions and challenge the mind. I love your writing and am so grateful that you share it with us all. Thank you for such wonderful, heartfelt, tales.

What a bitch you are.....

You should be ashamed. It cost me a whole box of tissues. What a wonderfully crafted emotion filled story.

A deep emotion wrenching embrace. Each carefully chosen word wrenching ever more tears.

On the way in, they were tears of sorrow, of emense loss, and a s a reader I felt the loss.

Then of course the swim to the surface was full of tears of joy.

Fabulous story.

Thank you for sharing your talent.

Cagivagurl

You may have to change your name to “morethanonehitwanda”

I enjoyed the tale and first few pages were read through teary eyes. Eventually the girls met, parted and then reconciled and hopefully lived happily ever after though if I had been Astrid I would have run a mile after being offered Lizzie's coat, that was weird and kind of creepy.

Just another excellent story from wanda. 5 stars for the mood you captured in the story from start to end and the message of healing.

A darkly beautiful story. Had me up til 3 a.m. reading it. You really captured Becca's grief and her resulting brokenness. Healing from a loss like that is never a simple thing. It's complicated and often very messy, as your story illustrates so well. As always, thank you for sharing your gift with us.

As always wonderful and special

Gods... I can't stop the tears..

So beautiful

Such depth of passion and love, so naturally there will be pain. But the love wins out in yet another brilliant story from one of my favourite story-tellers. FIVE * all the way.

This is incredibly poignant. I found my heart hurting struggling with the beginning, yet I know the things that started out so dark recovered; it had a silver lining. Otherwise, how do we move on and survive a story of this wonderful magnitude?

Excellent story. Very well told. I await your next with anticipation. Till next time.

Thank you, that was an utter delight.

I was so excited to see a new story from you. And as usual you didn't disappoint. The opening scene had me in tears, and as others have noted, there were so many ups and downs, and lots more tears before we got to a satisfying end. I lost an adult child 10 months ago, so I much identified with Mick. And we have maintained a close relationship with his fiancée', whom we much love. So this story resonated with me on so many levels. I thought your sensitive treatment of all of it so thoughtful and perceptive. Thank you, Wanda.

Well I am past praising your skills. Let me try to explain why I love your stories. You have the talent to not only unfold our characters but also explain carefully their feelings. No story can be shallow in your hands . But what really gets me is how you compose the story, the characters and their feeling just like poetry. Even in this story where there is some emotionial rush, it can be slowly tasted , palated. Reaading your stories is just like enjoying a nice coup of vine while whatching the sea by the shore at twilight.

My eyes are MOIST. What a lovely story. I wouldn't have minded if it went on for five more pages; your characters are very engaging. Thanks!

I love your writing Wanda, and this did make me cry, but Astrid's reaction felt seriously ott. Then, back together after 11 months and a single phonecall and suddenly they are life partners? It felt like a bit of a stretch.

How wonderful that I get to comment on your story immediately after onep of my other favourite authors, Cagivagurl.

I started crying on page one and think I had some tears on every page. I think you should give a tissue warning and Lit could replace stars with tissue boxes. Either way you'd get 5.

Thank you so much x

Cagivagurl beat me to it ..... I was going to berate you for bringing tears to my eyes!

Fantastic as always Wanda.Moved me to tears at one point.Shame that Astrid took a year to sort out her issues.As noted by someone else Astrid s reaction to Rebecca s understandable mistake was a bit harsh in my view but..meh.We all handle our grief in different ways. Speaking as a widower I am qualified to say this.

5 stars as always.

Twowayman62

This one hit a bit too close. In the span of 1 week last week, I lost my mother-in-law and my grandmother, the one who provided me with a safe and stable home when my parents couldn't.

I feel like I'm barely keeping my pieces together in the rough semblance of a person. So yeah, this one hit close. And yet I couldn't stop reading. Thanks for yet another beautifully written story. 5*! Won't be rereading this one anytime soon though.

Lesbian stories are not usually first on my list to read. But I read them to try and understand the emotions and conflicts that are part of the relationship. I do understand Bi relations as I lived with a woman for 20 years and shared with her the joys involved, but that was just sex, not love. I loved how you shaped this tale with a long buildup to the joyful coupling and the heart wrenching destruction of a relationship. Then the long year of self flagellation and finally the happy reunion of two souls. I cried with happiness and also with sorrow off and on through the story. What a wonderful time I had this afternoon experiencing your marvelous writing creation.

So I hate to say it but picture the scene, big light off and a onehitwanda story shows up. Always knew id need the tissues, never thought id need them by the end of chapter 2!!! My own fault I suppose for reading one of your stories. There is always emotion and it’s never just lust.

Love your stories, loved this story. *****

I managed to hold it together but at the mention of the knee I cried. I've got a bad ankle and so seeing that... fuck.

Incrediblem

Beautiful story, loved your use of language and imagery.

"They... they buried him without Mister Nosey."

I was pretty much a wreck after that.

Thank you for weaving another beautiful literary tapestry.

As someone who never fully recovered from the loss of a loved one (not even a lover), I can relate to a lot of this. I wish I could have regained my innocence about life, but I never did. Those that can fully love again after a traumatic loss have my awe and admiration. Ironically, I experience love vicariously through others, and celebrate them. I definitely celebrate Astrid, Becca, and Lizzy, as well as Mick, Becca’s mom, and Ursula - with a special celebration of little Davey - gone too soon. This story captured the essence motions of love, life, and death quite comprehensively. I am in awe of the author. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Loosing a soulmate as in Lizzy or Davey can easily break you and drown you, drown into darkness into pain into a soulache that will stay forever until your own death is freeing you ….. im speechless, don’t know how to praise your gift writing such unbelievable beauty about live and death ….. sitting here trying to hold back my tears as im taken hard by this tale ….. luck is so special and important to ride the roller coaster of our lifetime ….. but sometimes luck is kind of absent and then moving on is nearly impossible ….. you Wanda are a really artist with your pen and im grateful that you published this tale

💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨🙏

Just beautiful (and thank you Jackie too ;)

Breathtakingly Beautiful!!

Su

I have a half a box left! And one soaked sleeve. Without a doubt one of the most mournful and tragic stories I have read in a long time. Both protagonists have lost their loved ones, and have lowered themselves to despair. Rebecca is the worst. She is floundering in loss, grief, and a firm belief that it will only take time when she meets Lizzy for all eternity. It is only right they connect. Then Rebecca goes and messes it up. Personally, I think, Astrid goes a little overboard and mis-interprets the event. She finally comes around and gives an olive branch to Becca.

You close the story with all is well and pretty much forgiven with a promise of a better future.

Wanda I don't believe I have ever read such a story about the sufferings of a departed one as I have read here. I am still misty eyed even now as I write this.

Thank You

Take Care

You didn't waste any time making me tear up. This was a tough read but I couldn't stop. You have topped yourself again.

I believe this is the best story I have read here. Well done! 5+

Bawling my eyes out a mere handful of paragraphs in. Your stories always tug at the heartstrings but this one was wrenching them from their holders.

Another beautifully crafted story with very raw emotions. I do wonder though, and I know the story hinges on this moment, whether Astrid have been so unforgiving of a single slip made when half-asleep? Still 5 star writing though.

Beautiful story

This story has fine , heartfelt characters and is a primer for writing a classic romance. The sex is neatly dovetailed into the story and you don't lose the characters when the heavy breathing starts. Since I was born with a paucity of estrogen I am often mystified by the passion inherent in people being pulled apart, especially, if you diagrammed it, there is no good reason (with the accent on reason) for them not to be together. They mostly just feel they can't. Better to hurt than be hurt???? And then there is the joy in feeling deep sadness. Oh, you evoke that so well. But it's a puzzle why we get entertainment from others' sadness. Finely crafted tale with lovable flawed characters. Kudos.

… I read about half this story through some sort of cathartic tears. Heartrendingly beautiful story.

I was weeping from page one. So strong, so powerful. (As an aside: I got called the wrong name once. I actually thought it was hilarious. But then I wasn't quite as immature or vulnerable as Astrid, thankfully.)

Thank you for this story Wanda. Heartbreaking and hopeful.

Your writing is truly beautiful. I’m always glad when I read something you’ve written.

I have a special place in my heart for “broken person finds love” stories when they’re this well done. It’s a truly human thing. Thank you for sharing your gift.

I love it. 😍😍😍❤️❤️

Dear Wanda, I am severely dehydrated from reading this beautiful story, and have drenched a few hankies. Thank you and I hope that you love someone as much as your ability to put love into words has been portrayed here. Regards from Tim

You’ve done it again! So good! Thank you.

Well done!

I say this with only respect and admiration: My God, have you ever once written a happy story, you emotional sadist? Do you get off on all these people telling you how hard you made them cry or something?

Oh my goodness, I cried like a little girl, I laughed out loud, I sobbed uncontrollably. Such a sad happy story. Very simply THE BEST I have ever read. Wanda, beautiful, wonderful and not nearly enough superlatives to describe this story.

I also want to say, so much more than lesbian sex, it should be in romance.

Dam Wanda! You did it. You made an old straight man get all teary! Great story, great characters. On a scale of one to ten its off the scale!.

Thank you, OHWanda, for the timely reminder that even amidst unbearable grief not all hope is lost.

You seem to mine the space between madness and euphoria, to borrow a phrase, to great effect. (Or perhaps, affect, given the number of eye wipes while reading.)

*sigh* this story is grief, hope, sex, friendship, grief (did I say grief already?) my friend said to me once, “grief is just love continuing to pour out from your heart, though the person isn’t there any more.” It’s true. You love so much that you can’t just stop loving them all of a sudden. So your story is lovely in the sense that it’s real. Great job writing. This must have been hard to write. Thank you so so much for making us cry. Some of us need it.

My eyes are all red & I can't focus & I have to go to work. Teach me to read you in the morning.

I... was not ready for that.

A beautiful story personifying pain, loss, love and trauma. Where we exist, in all four trying to make our way in life moving beyond just existing, connecting with those in similar struggles. What a emotionally captivating experience you have shared with us, once again thankyou for your continued gift of story telling.

You deserve a medal. 🤗

I don't know how you put so much emotion into your writing and survive.

Such amazing strength and resilience and Becca's character.

I was not expecting 8 pages of tears in my eyes, I was ready for at most 6 pages. This ruined me. If I were ever in Becca's position I don't think I could've lasted that long, it's beautiful to see the bad turn good but it's a heart wrenching feeling when you realize you'd probably have given up halfway through the process. God I was not ready to feel this sad.

Wanda, I can't begin to describe the gamut of emotions you have led me through with this beautiful story! Thank you!

Love

Sarahxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This was such a beautiful study of loss and pain. I really appreciated that in the end Becca didn't learn to love again so much as she learned to love more. So many stories think that grief is just something we move on from when life is much more complicated. Thank you for sharing this with us all Wanda, it was a fantastic romance.

Best I’ve read in a long time. Thank you.

Another beautiful story. Thank you.

Loved it until Astrid blew everything up, which didn't feel warranted past a few days of groveling. And them getting back together felt just as forced. Otherwise, a great read. Loved the beginning of the story the most. Truly heart wrenching.

Sooo good. The emotional journey in this story kept me in tears almost from the start.

BTW - what a lovely Haiku at the beginning of section 2. I looked it up and the best matches were Walt Whitman and Robert Frost. So you are in very good company.

Another wonderful story from you. You are able to express very powerful emotions so well. I too was deeply moved by this tale. I lost someone I cared for deeply to cancer after 40 years.

This got the most reluctant 5 stars I've ever given because your writing is so beautiful, but I don't tend to come to this website to sob like a baby!

Thank you Wanda, you took me through emotions I thought were buried, not in a bad way, but in an enlightening way. Thank you...

What a wonderful story! You tell it so we'll, with such restraint a d generosity!

All of your writing is fascinating. I've been winding my way through your stories for the past couple weeks and paying close attention to your pacing and structural preferences while I absorb the sumptuously rich characters you create. So many of your stories revolve around grief, loss, and redemption that I find myself mulling over the adage to "write what you know" and hoping that the darker stories are as cathartic for you as they are for many of your readers.

Grief and damage make us do weird things, at weird times, for weird reasons. I could criticize Astrid's reaction as irrational, but of course it is, and there's no reason it shouldn't be. She's lost in a desert and she desperately hopes she's stumbled onto an oasis that, to her mind, suddenly evaporates like the trick of the light she's been terrified it was all along. She's young and brittle and desperate to hold herself together, and self-preservation is one of the hardest things to overrule in the human mind.

Excellent work, here and elsewhere, and I look forward to finishing all of your works.

Is it strange to be able to physically feel the loss that you so profoundly speak about in some of your stories..? I read and re-read some of your stories just to be able to feel the depth of emotions expressed in them.

You are that ridiculously good at making people feel.. And i am grateful to have access to your work. Keep my heart going Wanda. Thank you.

For the first time I am disappointed. The break in the relationship is a classic twist. While you have included them before never in such a strong way that through the story. I still think your writing is terrific just not this plot line.

Great storey - it ripped my heart out!

First, I love your writing style. You capture emotion - despair, pain, joy - very well.

I admit, when Astrid left after the single utterance of the other name, I was slightly disappointed that this story would follow an almost cliché aspect of post-loss and grief romance plot lines.

But the human heart is a fickle thing, especially when you're young, and in Astrid's case, being 21-22 and having her first love after experiencing her own traumatic loss... totally believable. Honestly much more believable than other stories that follow this similar "break" path.

So by the ending, having shed many of my own tears, I must admit, this is possibly one of the best post-loss romances I've read, largely due to how hauntingly and disturbingly real all the emotions feel. If you've felt this way before, truly sorry for your loss, but if not let it be a testament to the power of your writing skill.

thank you i can almost feel your stories you are good be well happy and safe a fan shayne

Oh wow, oh my, that was pure delight. I haven't cried so much over one of your stories for such a long time.

Thank you for writing something so perfect.

Well, that was a somewhat lighter story than I anticipated from the synopsis, even with the fairly dark second act. Really lovely! Due to life stuff I was a little weary of exposing myself to this particularly premise at first, but I ultimately trust you to handle anything you take on with the necessary gentleness and care, and I'm glad I decided to give it a try - I found it hopeful, and warm, and much more a story to smile at than cry about (though I guess other people's mileage may vary on that).

Easily my favorite thing about it is their dynamic: there's just so much movement and change there and it fits the narrative so perfectly that I got totally caught up in the flow of it all. Thank you for taking the time to write, edit, and publish this one for us! I appreciate it :)

A nice story but IMHO could have been much better.

Astrid’s leaving her suddenly after one dream-riddled confused statement seemed way out of proportion to the severity of the ‘crime.’ It almost seemed as if you needed some trauma to stir the literary cauldron. It certainly made me not ‘like’ Astrid very well.

And Astrid’s sudden turn around 11 months later seemed so out of keeping when compared to her total refusal to even communicate with Rebecca for so long.

Lovely…..

Writing a cohesive love storiy is hard!! This was very good.

Will read more of your work

Damn! Wept last 2 1/2 pages. So happy for them both. Happy for them all. TY

thirtyfivehitWanda. I can add nothing to all the well-deservef praise above.