Gale and Katniss had no relationship. There is no doubt whatever about that. Gale moved to District 2, than to District 4, but Gale has never once returned to District 12. Katniss, like most of the other people Gale knew before and during the war, had no idea what happened to Gale. For all she knew, he could be dead as a doornail.
It should be noted I have no idea, to my knowledge, what is particularly dead about a doornail. I might be inclined, myself, to regard a fired bullet or an exploded artillery shell as the deadest piece of metalworking in the trade. But there is ancestral wisdom in the simile; and it is not for my unsanctified hands to disturb it, or Panem will surely crumble and the sacrifices of the last century will have been for naught.
Was Gale alone? Of course he was! His younger brother Rory Hawthorne was the only person who would even tolerate his presence, and it's been that way for I don't know how many years. Rory Hawthorne was his sole sibling, his sole immediate relative, and his sole friend. Even Rory only kept his older brother company out of more a sense of familial duty than actual affection.
But this leads back to the starting of origin. There is no doubt that Gale Hawthorne is alone, that must be understood for this story to have any significance. If Gale were not alone, if Gale had even one friend on hand, then there would be nothing to set apart from the ordinary an account of him receiving a visit from someone in his past.
Gale Hawthorne seemed to carry a shadow over him, one that was growing for nearly four decades. No winter frost was colder than he was, and no summer sun could warm him. His heart was in effect frozen, hardened and deadened.
People certainly knew this, as nobody ever asked Gale Hawthorne the directions to a locality, nor did anyone ever inquire as to which hour of the day it was, and it seemed even the animals kept their distance from him.
But it is not as though he cared. He did not mind that people avoided him, as he was loathe of any and all company. He did not mind that some people demanded his head, as he believed the actions of the past should be left there and that they ceased to matter.
Upon a time - just a day seemingly insignificant from days of the past- old Gale Hawthorne sat busy in his office. Like any other day, he was counting through the mail. He read one of the letters, one that he got from the hospital. It read that the test results were indeed confirmed, and he did have terminal cancer. There was no chance of treatment or recovery; Gale Hawthorne would be dead within a few years.
It was now that he heard a ringing of the phone from the hallway.
He shuffled to the home phone and picked up the line.
"Hello Gale, its Rory."
"What do you want." he growled.
"Just checking up on you."
"You bother me enough as it is. Go away!"
"Surely you don't mean that."
"I do" said Gale, "Checking up on me! What makes you think you have the right to be concerned with me? Why are you concerned? Mind your own business, you're poor enough."
"What right do you have to be so dismal? You're rich enough."
Having no better answer, Gale simply grumbled.
"Don't be so down!"
"What else can I be?" returned Gale, "when I live in a nation of fools."
"Gale!", Pleaded Rory softly.
"Rory!", Returned Gale, "mind your own business, and let me mind mine."
"Please, I haven't seen you in person for years; come over to have dinner with us. I'll pay for the train ticket and pick you up at the station and we can make a day of it."
Gale laughed at this, the laugh erupting rough his whole body. This was the first time he laughed in half a decade. It was not a kind laugh, it was a bitter and harsh one.
"Why must you laugh at me? I was serious."
"Why did you get married?"
"Because I fell in love."
"Because you fell in love." Gale said this with unmasked contempt. "There's no such thing as love."
"Gale, this was never your reason before. Why now?"
"Goodbye."
"I don't ask you for anything; I don't want anything from you; why can't we be close like we used to be?"
"Goodbye."
"It makes me sad. I don't know what I could have said or done to drive a wedge between us. But I hope someday you'll change your mind." With this, Rory Hawthorne hung up and Gale placed the phone down.
"Fool …", Gale muttered.
Before Gale could sit down to return to his paperwork, there came a knocking at the door. Two kindly and pleasant looking gentlemen stood at the door when Gale answered it. They carried books in their hands, and smiled.
"Have I the pleasure of addressing Mr. Hawthorne?"
"Yes, now who do I have the displeasure of addressing?"
"We are from the Victims of War Organization. As you know, many people on both sides were hurt in the war. Millions were left crippled by things like snare bombs and poison gas, and there are millions who have someone missing in their lives. Most of these struggle to support their families."
"Are there still prisons and jail houses?"
"Yes, plenty of prisons.", they answered.
"Are there still bread lines?", Gale asked.
"Yes.", the men nodded.
"There is still the Retired Soldier Administration and there is still Welfare?"
"Yes, both busy."
"Oh, good. You had me worried that they had somehow shut down and necessitated people to go around begging for money like a dog at a table." Gale glared at them as he said this.
"While both Administrations are doing their best, they are unable to reach everybody. We are working to raise funds for those who are still unable to make ends meet because of injuries accrued during wartime."
Gale shook his head. "You are wasting your time."
"You mean you won't help them?"
"I mean I want to be left alone. I am not about to give my hard earned money to help people crippled in a war that should be left in history books. The ones who fought for the rebels knew what they were getting into, and the ones who fought against them deserve what they got. In any case, it happened long enough ago that it no longer matters. They should just get a job."
"Many are unable to work."
"Then they should just die."
"I'm sorry you feel that way. Have a good day."
After they left, Gale slammed the door and returned to his office.