"Catnip," Gale greets, and tosses me a berry. I catch it, despite his distance and toss it into my mouth. Like always, Gale shows up quietly, his footsteps nonexistent. The woods are peaceful once again. No electric fences to keep us out. No fences at all, actually. The Peacekeepers are seemingly absent. Gale and I sit on a large boulder by the pond, eating berries and mint leaves. He tosses me another berry and I examine it in my hand before it falls to the ground. I know they aren't poisonous but the reminder just shocks through me. Gale doesn't have to hear me talking to know what I'm thinking. "Look at it this way," Gale turns to face me. "You have me now," His face is inches away from mine. The way his lips are parted distracts me and I can't help but lean in and press my lips to his. He doesn't pull away. Instead, he kisses back. I can taste the blackberries and mint leaves on his lips. He breaks off and smiles at me. "Today is May eighth." He says and leads me onto the path we take when we hunt.
"Yeah," I breathe. "Eighteen already." I'm reminded of how Prim had woken me up in an almost too energetic fashion this morning. Yelling and jumping on the bed. Prim has changed so much. She's even starting to look like my father. You can see it her eyes. She has one long braid down her back, instead of two. And as always, can never tuck her shirt in properly. As we walk along the trail my hands find their way intertwined with Gale's. Our quiet footsteps leave us staring at the pond again, bringing us in a circle. A wind rustles the trees conveying leaves down on the surface, and I watch the leaves create a rippling effect, as more and more of them drift on to the water.
"So, we're not hunting today….What do you want to do in the woods?" I ask. Gale sits us down on the soft grass. It's still a bit damp from the morning's dew. With our hands still entwined, he leans back until both of us are flat against the ground. The sky is a light silky blue, and only a couple of puffy clouds drift in the warm afternoon sky.
"It's your birthday for one," he says. "And this is the one place I can spend time with you." His squeezes my hand. "It is the one place where you smile." Gale grins. I laugh, and remember when he told me that a while ago. Actually, that was the day of the reaping. My smile fades a bit, not enough to provoke a question out of Gale. He's always asking how I am, how I'm feeling. I'm glad I have someone to share the secrets with.
"I smile outside of the woods," I defend, nudging him. Gale chuckles and I place my head on his chest. And I realize that Gale is right, as usual. I take in the woods again. So peaceful, so bright and open. There's no place I'd rather be, and nobody I would rather spend the day with. A couple of moments pass, and I'm almost falling asleep when a deathly scream echoes off and I can tell it's not far away. Gale and I are on our feet and running so quickly, not because it's just anyone's scream.
It's Prim's.
