Snippets
If somebody had told him a few years back that his life would end up that way, he would have said he was surly mad.
But that's life! Here he was in district 2, ascending the social ladder, having a job that people craved for, having a life he never dreamt of leading, he was no longer hungry, in fact non of his family was any longer, he was no longer afraid, neither was anyone in the whole of Panem.
Except he wasn't happy; she wasn't there.
He was always taken a back by her, he always thought of her as a star, beautiful, glowing and unattainable.
Indeed she was, at least to him.
She was now married, leading a happy, comfortable life with Peeta.
Who would have thought they would grow that distant?
He only hears of her every now and then occasionally from friends, all small snippets of her life.
For a guy who was skilled at setting snares, tracking targets and hunting, he had to be always alert, always focused, always fore sighted and he had always prided himself in being so, except with her.
With her, he was dim sighted, so dim sighted.
He didn't see beyond her tough façade, he didn't see the little ordinary girl, who believe it or not secretly wanted a fairy tale of her own, a life, a family and everything.
He didn't see that.
He just thought they were both moulded for the harsh life, that they would live and die in that miserable thing of a life, that her imagination, her hopes and everything were long crushed, long dead under the burden of the cruel reality.
He was wrong.
He was always a fighter, always a realist, always the guy to do what has to be done even if there would be collateral damage, and he wasn't the lovey dovey type by any means.
She wasn't, he failed to see that, she cared for all those who would fall as collateral damage, she was emotional, she cared and worst of all, the collateral damage was hers, the collateral damage was the filament that set the whole chain reaction leading to that point, Prim.
Once he knew that Prim fell, he knew they were done, he knew it was over, he tried as hard to go up to her and just try to fix it.
It was unfixable.
He tried to move on from her, after all there were plenty of ladies, craving his company, yet despite the plenty, he knows there is only one Katniss, only one so after the constant failures, he decided to stop fooling him self , he wouldn't bother looking and wasting his time onto finding another, it was her , just her.
He decides to visit district 12.
He goes back to where it all started the woods.
He takes it back to where it all begun and wonders, how would it have been different if Prim wasn't reaped, he dismisses the thought, because let's face it; he still enjoys the facilities and the perks of the life he is leading.
He hears the mocking jay whistle.
She was there.
He tracks the voice with his never failing hunter skills.
He finds her, sitting over, eyes wandering over the horison and soaking the sunset.
A moment later, she seemed startled, she sensed his presence.
"Some stuff never fades" he chuckled as he walked towards her.
She looks him thoroughly, up and down
"Life has been good to you, I see Gale"
"Who would have thought, Catnip?"
Shortly after, they are joined by 2 little kids and Peeta.
They shook hands, both former rivals, tension ever present between them.
"I see life has been good to you both, as well"
"Yes" answered Peeta rather hostilely.
He bends down towards to match the height level of the kids
"So, what are your names?" he tried to sound as gentle and less intimidating as possible.
They look over at their parents for approval before answering
"I am Prim"
"And I am Mitch"
"And you are?" said the girl
"He is a friend of mom, his name is Gale" answered Peeta venomously.
"The guy has grown over protective" the thought crossed over his mind.
"So, we should be going before the dark sets in" resumed Peeta
"Of course, nice to have seen you both"
"Come on Gale, join us for dinner" invited Katniss
"Last I checked, your cooking was horrendous"
"She has grown domestic, now" Peeta replied
"Maybe some other time"
"Nice to have seen you too, Gale" answered Katniss
"So come on folks, make sure you don't trip over something while walking" Peeta instructed.
He lingered for quite some times.
After all those years, just seeing her still made him feel alive, satisfied.
Yet, the pang of pain in his chest was unbearable.
He was hurt; he really was because for the first time in his life he felt like an intruder in the life of Katniss.
Sure there hasn't been interaction in the past years, yet he never felt that far.
The cold seeps into his bones; he decides to head to his lodging.
Next day, he is gone.
He never returned to district 12.
He keeps hearing snippets about her from friends, just snippets.
It was all he was going to get; it was the closest he will ever be from now on.