Avian Boole (15) Citizen of district five, Male

The smoke had spread out in the entire sky, covering every bit of blue that might have been there one day. When that day was, nobody knew. But legend had it that District Five was not like this from the beginning. Once there had been gardens here. Green was not a sight that was astounding and the sky used to be clear blue. I was not alive then to play witness to these stories but they were nice to listen to once in a while. These stories about our past gave us hope, although we didn't know it.

As for me, I believed that District Five must have been different. After all, small doings of today add to big results of tomorrow. Or so I'd heard.

But today, the density of smoke didn't let me feel that it could be the case. I mean, no matter what your mood, the greyness of the sky would spoil it. The monotonous life... Sometimes, I got bored. No, I didn't work in the factory. Wasn't that what everyone assumed? That people in Five worked only in factories? Well, I could relate.

I worked as a help at a shop that sold pillows. Yeah, a pillow shop. It was a luxury that half the people couldn't even afford. But that didn't affect me because my job was to simply keep the shop clean and dust free.

As I combed my curly black hair, I wondered had it been better if I were born somewhere else. No, I wasn't trying to be demeaning, but I felt as if I was made for something more than cleaning a shop and taking out its garbage! Sometimes, I felt it would have been better to work in a factory. Risky job, certainly, but at least it meant something productive. Something better than sweeping and dusting.

I put on my aqua blue T-shirt that so matched my eyes' hue. The only difference was that my shirt was abundant in the department of holes, something at which my eyes lacked. Holes in shirts was a common thing in the Districts. Of course, if a skinny and pale boy like me was to wear this in the Capitol, I'd have earned a lot simply because people would mistake me for a beggar. But I wasn't a beggar, or so I told myself as I put on my tattered rubber sandals, I was meant to do something more.

No matter how much I'd be told that a District boy couldn't get better, I refused to believe it. My heart just couldn't accept it.

But what was that more? I didn't know, neither did my boss. He often told me that he was himself waiting for it, but I didn't get that.

However, as I walked on the dusty road, the smoke threatening to fill my lungs like a balloon, I wondered when exactly my time would come.

I hoped it wouldn't be too late...

Hello one and all! Welcome to this Partial SYOT! A big thank you for joining me here. This is Reader, presenting to you the prologue of Red Debt! So, I didn't reveal the twist in the chapter because it went a little differently and I was more focused on Avian, but I'll mention it here.

There shall be no tributes from Districts One, Two and Four. Yes, there will be no Career Districts this time. I wanted to keep it a short story and hence this will help reduce the number of tributes in total.

Secondly, you may submit to any spot other than 5M, 7F, 9M, 11F and 10 M. Hence, I'll be accepting 13 submissions only.

I hope this doesn't turn you away from submitting. I have already completed four SYOTs on my main account and am writing a fifth. I have also finished a collab with my friend. So you can be sure that this will be completed.

Do let me know what you think of Avian. If you hadn't guessed it already, he's our D5M. :) Let the submissions roll in!

Have a nice day!

PS :No, your tributes won't have such short introductions. This was just for the sake of the prologue. :)