As I walk to the garden one evening to water the primroses, I notice something. One of the beautiful flowers has bloomed. The little yellow flower fans out its petals like wings and is just so gorgeous that all I can do is stand there in awe. Then, I start to smile. I smile for the very first time since I lost her. I take my time memorizing every detail of the flower. I sniff it, inhaling the sweet scent. Finally, I touch the petals gently with my hand, fearing that if I touch it anymore it will break. Suddenly, all of my happiness drains out. This is a flower. Flowers die. It will not stay this beautiful forever.
I see a light on in Peeta's house. I run to his door and burst inside because he left the door unlocked. When I find him, he is in the kitchen, baking something with that intense concentration look he always has when he is baking or painting.
"Peeta! Peeta! You have to come over here now!" I scream at him. He looks confused, but I don't have time to explain. I take his wrist and drag him to the garden. He still looks confused but I point down at the blooming primrose. As he sees what I am pointing at, he stops dead and stares, mouth hanging open. We stare together for a while until I tell him about my idea.
"Peeta, do you think that you could paint this? Flowers don't last forever and I really want some way to remember the first primrose" I say. He nods and smiles.
Peeta returns with his sketchbook and some colored pencils. He sits down in front of the flowers and looks at our first primrose, contemplating how to draw it. He sets to work and I watch him. He perfectly captures the shape of all of the petals and leaves. When he colors it all, he gets the color of the flower just right. It almost seems like its glowing. Just when I think he's done, he grabs an orange pencil from beside him. He shades the area just above the primrose. He adds pinks and reds and more yellow. I watch as a sunset comes alive on the page. It is sunset. I had forgotten. My eyes go to the sky which is now a beautiful orange. I watch the sun go down slowly over the horizon. When it is finally gone, my eyes go back to the ground. I notice that Peeta had finished drawing and was watching with me. Peeta smiles when he catches me looking at him and hands me the picture of the primrose. The finished picture is almost as perfect as the real thing.
"This is just a sketch so far. I'm going to try and transfer this onto canvas tomorrow."
"Thank you" I say and we both get up from where we were sitting on the grass. I head back to my bedroom with the picture clutched tightly in my hand. I place it next to Prim's satin ribbon on my dresser.
That night I go to sleep without any nightmares.