Shamu Ward is an aspiring writer and artist from Bronx, New York. She’s currently a senior in high school but is aspiring to become a novelist. In her free time, she writes and draws—when her cat lets her.
I think the best way to understand my work is to put yourself in my character’s shoes. I always make sure to make my characters feel real despite their fantasy setting and try to have them behave as humane as possible. No character is truly good or evil. I think I’m doing so, I’ve grown as a person and have made so many discoveries about myself through my writing! Finally, I think what makes my work so unique is that each character directly relates to me or something that’s happened to me.
While I haven’t been able to forgive the person nor fully move on, this poem acts as a goal of mine: feeling prideful and unashamed about what happened.
This piece is a short story about my character, Princess Amantdeiylaia. It’s her 15th birthday, and an old friend pays her a visit. But is his presence welcomed?