Posts tagged district 12

I know it’s short but it’s a wrap up of this fanfic.

From the moment I woke up, I was in a good mood. I kiss Peeta. The children come running into out room. Life, I feel, is better again. Especially now I have Gale back again. The dream I had , I pretend was real. It keeps me happy. I’ve never had the same dream again since. We’re more sociable with everyone else that we’ve blocked out for years. Haymitch, Gale, Annie and her child.

                                                       ***

Years go on and everything stay perfect. The children get older and so do Peeta and I. Everything Gale said about appreciating us worked.

But above all, it’s Peeta who keeps me happiest. His love, affection and everything he does for me keeps me alive, staying sane and safe and sound. It’s the typical happy ever after. The odds were always in my favour and still are.

I open the front door and slip inside. I walk through the living room, past the kitchen and into our bedroom. I gently pull up the covers on my side of the bed and nestle myself in it to get comfortable. I turn over to face Peeta. He’s sound asleep. His breathing’s quiet and his eyelids flutter every now and then. I feel so happy that my life feels great again. I kiss his lips, which wakes him up instantly. I giggle. His eyes dart right open when he sees me. “You okay? Everthing’s okay?” He sounds suprisingly calm compared to earlier. “Yes and yes,” I reply. “I feel so much better, like a huge weight that’s been on my shoulder’s for years has finally been lifted off. Life just feels a bit better than before. I mean, it always has been because of you…” before I can continue he kisses me again. This moment is perfect.

                                                            ***

Once i’ve told Peeta everything, we finally doze off to sleep.

                                                            ***
I flitter and flutter my eyelashes and open my eyelids. Everything’s blurry, I blink a few times to get my sight to normal. I’m here again. In my dream world of whiteness. I don’t see and familiar place, buildingor faces. I’m in a different dress this time. It’s like the other dress, but ten times more everything. This dress is whiter, if it could be possible. It’s bigger, longer, more flowy, still simple but prettier. I quickly walk to see if  I can find anyone. When I don’t, my walk breaks into a run and my dress flows beautifully behind me. I whip my head around backwards and forwards, not wanting to miss a single person. My hair covers most of my face as my head darts to and fro.

Then, that’s when I see it, him, my Father. He emerges from white smoke. Next to him, holding his hand is Prim. I’m so shocked that I can’t move. They see me and run towards me They are in the same clothes and look the same as they did before they died. I run towards them when two more people come out of the thick, white smoke. Rue, Finnick, Madge and Cinna. Others have joined too. They start to form a circl around me. I don’t who to run to first because i’m still frozen. Prim, Father, Rue, then everyone else. I make the order in my head. When I finally make myself move, I run to whoever’s nearest me first. I reach Prim first. She hugs me so tightly. It feels too real, but I squeeze her back in the moment. My Father hugs us both. I’m almost his height. I smile and rest my head on his shoulder. They don’t say anything and when I try, no words come out. This moment feels too good to be real.

 They let go and kiss me lightly on my forehead, I have to bend down for Prim to reach. Before I can say anything, they walk back to their original places. Rue falls into my arms as soon as my Father and Prim’s grip looses mine. I falls to my knees to hug her and hug her tightly. Behind her stand Thresh, smiling at me and he nods his head my my glance catches him. I smile and nod back with Rue still clinging onto me. She moves away from me and plants a kiss on my hand and walks towards Prim. I smile. They must’ve bonded here, in heaven. Finnick comes towards me with his muscely, built exterior, he hugs me and I hug back, it’s so nice to see Finnick again. He’s first to speak. “Tell Annie, I love her.” And again before I can respond, he walks away. I want to tell him about his child that he has no idea of but he’s already walked way to everyone else. I hug Cinna, Madge and everyone else too.

Everything’s perfect. All the ones I love and lost are here, all smiling and it feels like this is real. I so encredibly wish it was but it was only a dream as the smiling faces slowly disapear.

“So, what I wanted to say was, I err, miss you, I haven’t seen you in…Forever.” He says. I pause even though I know what I’m going to say. “Twenty years or more, you haven’t seen me in twenty years, you could’ve told me that before then, but no, you have to pick twenty years later. Why is it now that you speak to me?” I lash, he sighs deeply. “No, I’m here because I really do miss you. I keep having nightmares about what happened with your sister, with Madge and with you. I’m about to give up on life because no one cares but I want to clear the water with you first. I know i can never make things better no matter what I say or do, but I can’t live without Madge or you or in a world where no-body cares. I know it’s a random time but like I said I want to clear the water before I go.” He studies my face but I don’t give him any sympathy…yet.

“I walked here from District Two, its taken weeks and weeks, months. Please Katniss I beg you, even though I don’t expect you to, but forgive me, please.” I can’t help but question every word he says. “Why did you tell my children then?!” He shuts his eyes and places both hands on his temples and says. “Because I knew you would never tell them and they deserve to know what you life-style was like for you and all the things you had to go through to make them more appreciative of you. To say how special you were then and how special you are now. I never meant it to be something that’d hurt them, I promise.”

His eyes are pleading. Why should I forgive him? He lied to me, killed Prim; accident or not, took my children without my permission and tells them what I wanted them to never know, which actually made them distressed, worried and panicked AND shows up twenty years later expecting forgiveness from me. Why should I trust him? Why should I forgive him? Even if he did walk here from District Two, doesn’t take back everything he’s done does it? I go to Yell at him, but for some reason, hug him instead.

My hand has a burning sensation, I must have slapped hard. He looks stunned Like he doesn’t know what he did. He stands there, saying nothing. Peeta smirks a little. There’s a hand mark that starts to rise in Gale’s cheek. The moon’s light and the light from inside makes it just visible to see. I want to smile, I’m glad I did something, but I keep on a serious face. “What was that for?” He finally manages. I feel anger coming off mine and Peeta’s bodies. “You know exactly why.” Peeta bursts. “Don’t act like you don’t know, like you didn’t do anything, I can’t believe you just said that.” I step in. “I can’t believe he had the nerve to show up and see us, well kidnapp our children first, after mmm, twenty years? And bring up THE HUNGER GAMES! Why? Because you’re sick!” I lurch towards him but he grabs my wrists firmly. As soon as he does, Peeta grabs his arm.

“Get.your.filthy.sick.grubby.hands.off.her.” He lashes. I’m shocked at his outburst. Gale looks at me with sypathetic eyes. For a second I fall for it. Then I remeber why I mad. I easily shake it off. The nerve of him. Gone for twenty years, nicks my kids and tells them horrid stories that I wish they wouldn’t have to find out about at all, let alone in the future.

“Get out, away. Back where you came from and stay there.” I spit at him. His expression is pleading and full of regret. I give up. I need to talk to him. Even if he killed my sister and haven’t seen him since. “Five minutes, that’s it no more. This isn’t going to be a friendly convorsation.” I regret it, but i’ve said it now. Peeta grabs me by both of my shoulders and practically shouts. “What?! This is insane!” I try not to look into his eyes. But I acidentally do.

They are glassy. Moonlight glinting on the water in his eyes. His eyebrows raised which put together, make and expression that makes me want to flop into his arms and stay there. But I stay strong. I hug him briefly and place a kiss on his lips. One of his warm tears falls onto my cheek and I quickly pull away. I turn around to face Gale and I slowly take a step outside of the door, turn around to face Peeta for the last time until I get back, and walk. Getting faster until normal speed. I face Gale and he smiles. I don’t smile back but look straight ahead. I turn to see if Peeta’s still there and as expected he still is. I look at him until he’s out of sight and I keep walking, with no idea what Gale’s going to say.

We reach back to our house, carrying the children in our arms. My son in mine, my daughter in Peeta’s. They haven’t spoken since their last confession of who paid us an unwanted visit. Neither has Peeta and neither have I. I close the door, we walk into our living room and I set my son on the sofa and Peeta places our daughter next to him. They sit there, still, unmoving. Peeta sits on the opposite sofa facing them and I stay stood. I decide to speak “What did he do to you?” I ask after the long silence that seemed to last forever.

The girl sets the the cushion back in it’s original place and says “He kocked on the door and-and-and he asked if Mummy was here. He said that it was important so I said you and Daddy were sleeping and he asked us to talk to him, away from home. He said he wsyou friend Mummy. We went with him and-and-and he was very friendly but then he told us about when you were younger, about the…” Her words wobble and she blubbers into a cry. Her brother instantly looks at her and wraps his arms around her shoulders, one arm around her back and one round her front. I feelso touched for the sweet jesture her brother just made to his sister. “The Hunger Games.”

He told us that he wanted us to keep shushie and not to say anything.” I beckon them over to me and they run. I hold them tightly and hush them. “It’s going to be okay.” I pull them back to study their faces. “It never happened okay?” They nod and I hug them again. Peeta joins in this time. After that we just sit there for a while and then Peeta makes us brunch.

                                                            ***

It’s gotten dark. That’s the only thing we notice. We send the children off to bed, it’d been a long day and they need some rest. I come this time. The children are almost back to normal and Peeta seems to be a lot happier. But not everything is perfect yet. Gale’s here. I don’t know where but too close for comfort now. We need to talk to him or at least I do. Me and my husband sit together until the children have fallen asleep. We start to walk to out bedroom with Peeta’s hand behind my back and my head on his shoulder. We keep walking when we hear a knock. The knock was from the door. We both know who it is. I quickly pace to the door. Peeta at my side and fling the door open. He’s there, older, same straight faced complextion with no emotion showing whatsoever. Grey starts to show in his hair. He’s not much different and he’s also first to speak as he looks straight at me. “We need to talk.” I want to slap him. Peeta stares him down with an evil expression. I breathe and say “Yes, I know we do.” and slap him so hard around the face.

My knees feel weak as I  know who is behind those screams. Peeta dashed out of the door and runs out of sight, towards the screams. I run after him. The first step Haymitch takes out of the door, he tumbles and lands on his face. I would’ve laughed before. I would’ve gone back for him, but I leave him there. I run. My knees ache, so do my lungs. This isn’t as easy as before. I find Peeta, he’s still running, at full speed…into the meadow. I slow down, out of breath. Adrenaline must be kicking in Peeta ten times as much as anyone’s. I don’t see him anymore. I hear footsteps behind me. I whip my head around. It’s Annie. “Katniss, what-what’s going on? What were those screams? W-w-why are you and Peeta running?” She asks. Now she panting and panicing, I need to calm her down before so looses it. I have no clue what to say.”Me and Peeta are…” I stumble for words. “Are, playing with the children.” I lie. I’d rather lie than tell the truth right now. It’ll take longer to get to the children. She sighs with relief. “Oh, okay, well, bye.” I smile and nod. I quickly pace away and then break into a run. I look into the meadow. Peeta’s there. So are the children.

It feels like a huge whale weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I contunie to run. My lungs burn but I don’t care. I have to keep running. Faster and faster. The children stay sat and frozen. Peeta has them in his arms, he tries to talk to them and they don’t respond. I grab them into my arms. Me and Peeta cradle them. We ebarce eachother. My daughte’s eyes are red and puffy, her breathing’s uneven and her nose is starting to run. My son just rocks backwards and forwards on his bum, cradleing his knees. Just like his Dad does. His eyes are fixed on the blowing grass and they stay fixed there. “What happened? You scared us to death!” my voice raises but not in a strict tone. The boy speaks. “A man was here.”
“Who?” Peeta demands. Our son shakes his head. “I don’t know Daddy. He said he was looking for you Mummy.” I stare at him and at Peeta who’s gaze instantly to mine. Alert. “What did he want, besides talking to Mum?” Peeta asks. Our daughter stays silent, our son replies again. “He told us about…the Hungry Games.

It feels like I swallowed a brick. WHAT?! How dare whoever they are, in their right mind tell my children about that?! And kidnap them?! “Anything else?” I sound angry and insane. My daughter speaks now. “He said he was your friend, a long time ago. He’s from District Two.” She still stares, then looks at me with dispare in her teary eyes. I let out a shocked noise that sounds like a whimper. I know who it is. I’m going to kill him. Gale.

We sit down on the plush, blue, velvet sofa. I still don’t believe that they’re gone. Did they run away? If so why? Did they get kidnapped? If so, what monster would do that? I can’t bring myself to think of anything else. Katniss sits next to me, I grab her hand without looking at her. My eyes stay focused on the glass picture frame with me, Katniss and my beautiful children. Grinning to our ears. I squeeze her hand tighterI have to keep it together because, if I don’t, she won’t. No more breakdowns. Not today. No-more.

She rubs her bare feet against ontop of my shoeless and sockless ones. Her feet are cold with bits of gravel still stuck to them but I intend to keep them there for something else to focus on. I don’t know if Haymitch was still the best person to come to ask. He’s more sober than he used to be these days. But right now, sober is definately what he isn’t. He slides and falls into the slightly smaller other velvet sofa and tries to put his feet up on the woodern outlined glass table but misses everytime. I would probably find that amusing any other time. If I wasn’t in this…situation.

“Sooo..” He says slurring. I try to say something. I want to shout at Haymitch for being in this state at this time. But, he wouldn’t have known, so I can’t. “What can I do for this..honurabe visit?” he slurs again. Having as much money as he does and considering his age, I stil don’t see why he drinks too much and I don’t see how he’s not dead yet. Katniss is first to speak after a long moment of silence. “Our children…are…missing, both of them. Gone.” My hand tenses in hers as she says it out loud. She squeezes it and rubs my thumb for comfort.

It feels different, her comforting me. Haymitch looks stunned. If he wasn’t drunk right now, he’d be out that door and probably have aready found them. But he is drunk, still sat there. “Say something.” I angrily whisper. Those are the only words I managed. Katniss looks at me. Shocked that i’ve spoken. She budges along the sofa slowly next me me and I wrap my left arm around her waist. “Lets go.” Haymitch says drunkenly enthusiatstic. He falls and stumbles. We sigh and help him up to the door. We go to leave the door when we hear a boy and a girl shriek..