for Waverly Award of Distinction

I grew up in an unsafe environment and the scars left behind were incredibly impactful. I always looked at the tree outside my house growing up with my miscarried sister's ashes underneath and thought to myself, "If only I had a sister. Things would be better." But it is because of her death that I am here. A thought of resentment crossed my mind, but instead I realized that my existence shielded her from a pain I can only describe as soul shattering. I am thankful that she did not make it. I would never pass this pain to another being. Instead I hold her, carry her within me, in a broken soul that it now healing with the pink petals of a weeping cherry tree.

Watercolor on paper.