Daddy is in District 11 to talk with some farmers about flour sales. He says that the people who used to sell him flour would sometimes let bugs get in it, so he needs to buy it from someone new. Daddy owns all of the bakeries in District 12 with Mommy, but they have people work for them so they can make them all good quality. During the day Daddy usually checks up on his bakeries to see how it's going and teach the cooks new tricks.
I'm seven, and Daddy says that someday soon I'll work in the bakery with him. Mommy says that for now I can help her in the kitchen. We burn stuff a lot.
When Daddy left for District 11 this morning, he said he'll be back tomorrow. Then he gave me a hug and Mommy gave him a big, sloppy kiss. Then I went to Amber Cartwright's house to play for the afternoon. When I got home, Mommy didn't feel like cooking anything for dinner, so we got to eat pastries from the bakery and not tell Daddy.
I call Daddy before I go to bed, and he says that he is already waiting at a train station to come back. Then I go to sleep.
Every night I wake up once because I hear a scream. It used to scare me, but Mommy and Daddy told me that everything was okay, and they never lie, so I just got used to it. When it happens tonight, I just ignore it and try to go back to sleep. But then it happens again. And again.
Somebody is screaming. I run upstairs to my parent's room. I need to find Mommy, to ask if everything's gonna be okay. When I get closer to her room, the screaming gets louder. I can hear some words now, too, mixed in with the other screams.
"Peeta! Rue!" are the names I hear. "Get away, get away!"
"Mommy!" I scream. I'm so scared. I run into her room and see her standing by her window. She's the one screaming, and her eyes are closed. She keeps scratching and hitting the window.
"Stop!" she shrieks. "Somebody, help me!"
"Mommy!" I scream. I don't know whether to go up to her or to run away. "Mommy!"
All of a sudden, Mommy collapses on the ground in a ball. Did she just die? I run up to her, crying so hard I can't breathe. Mommy's not dead, but she's shaking moaning about something that I can't understand.
"M-mommy?" I ask. I shake as I reach out to touch her. As soon as my fingers brush her shoulder, she jerks away and gasps really loud. I scream and try to run back but just fall over.
"Rose!"
"Mommy?"
Mommy is sitting up, and she looks normal now, just a little scared. She crawls over to me and hugs me.
"Rose, honey, are you okay?"
"What happened, Mommy?" I beg. "Why couldn't you hear me?"
"It was a bad dream, Rose. I'm so sorry."
The only person in the world who's ever cried as hard as I do now is Mommy as she's holding me.
Daddy never spends the night anywhere other than at home again.