Secrets and Surprises - A One-Shot

It's a bad day outside the fence for anything involving hunting. My empty twitch up snares solemnly confirm this fact as I observe them closely.

Great. What am I going to bring home to my family? I can't fish since the stream is, surprisingly, as silent as the District Twelve fence usually is, and now trapping has proved itself out of the question.

If Katniss were still here, maybe she could've helped me gather some plants or shoot some game with a bow. But I'm not sure if any of these plants around here are edible (my mind is blanking out apparently), and using a bow just makes me miss her even more.

Could it really have only been one morning since she was still here, hunting with me? It feels like it's been many years.

I sigh as I slowly sneak back under the fence to the Hob. Greasy Sae is warily sitting on a stool, watching people walk by, going on with their lives. Somehow, I can't make myself do the same.

"Hello," I say, approaching her with empty hands.

"Slow day, huh?" Greasy Sae gives me a slightly sympathetic smile. She's an old woman that is a regular trader at the Hob, and can usually be counted on to trade for game and greens from the woods.

"You have no idea," I reply, like we are old friends, which in a way, we are. I gingerly take a seat next to her on an empty stool and place my head in my hands. I just want to think.

We say nothing for a minute or so, simply basking in the busyness of the Hob. There are people talking with other traders, arguing over food, yelling for a bargain. Normally Katniss and I would be with them. But it's different now.

I'm so caught up in my thoughts that when Greasy Sae breaks the silence with a question, I jolt my head up so hard it hurts.

"You really miss her now, don't you?"

I know what she's talking about. It's all I think about now since the reaping yesterday.

"Yes, I do," I say quietly. "Everything I do reminds me of her in some way."

Greasy Sae nods in thought. "Gale, I once had a friend when I was your age who was chosen to participate in the Games. Her name was Yvette and I still think of her on occasion." Suddenly, she lets out a little bitter laugh. "Then again, who here hasn't known anyone like that?"

I don't say anything. The Hunger Games are a touchy topic anywhere, anytime. I understand why she doesn't want to discuss it any further, so I let it drop.

"Anyway, I have to go," she continues, as a regular trader walks up to us. "Good luck, Gale."

"You, too," I nod as she walks away. Then I immediately hit myself for my stupidity. What am I wishing her luck for? She's fine. She's not the one walking around in circles because her best friend went into the Games. She got over it eventually. So can I.

I don't want to go back home. That would mean facing my starving family and admitting that I was weak when they needed me. So I force my feet to walk in the other direction, towards the square.

The square, I discover when I reach it, unlike the Hob, is strangely empty. There are a few people walking around sparsely, but all the shops are closed and darkened. I guess people are still getting past the reaping and are still celebrating that their children are safe for another year.

Speaking of which, I guess I should be happy about that. I'm eighteen, which means that this was my last reaping. I'm safe from the Games. For the rest of my life.

Now that I've realized the square is deserted, there's no point in staying here any longer. I'm about to turn around and start the walk back home when I hear a high-pitched voice next to me.

"Hey!"

Huh? I wonder, whirling around.

"It's you!" The girl I find standing behind me nods affirmatively. "The boy with the strawberries."

Strawberries? What on earth is this frilly girl talking -

Oh. Now I remember. The day of the reaping. Yesterday. Katniss and I sold strawberries to this girl, at Mayor Undersee's door. So this must be the mayor's daughter. The girl with five entries.

"I remember," I say coldly. "How could I forget?"

The girl laughs and sticks out her hand. "I'm Margaret. But you can call me Madge, for short. Sorry we didn't exactly get off on the right foot, if you know what I mean. What's your name?"

I stare at her. "Gale. And, if you don't mind, I really - "

"Oh, so you're Katniss's friend," she interrupts me in a hushed voice. "I'm so sorry. You must be feeling so terrible! I really miss her too."

I nod briefly. "Yes, she's my hunting partner and she's also, basically, like a little sister to me."

Madge takes this opportunity to reach out and pat my arm. "Aw, that's so sweet! She was so lucky to have a friend like you."

"Was?" I ask angrily.

Madge suddenly widens her gorgeous turquoise eyes at me. "Oh, no, Gale, I didn't mean it like that! No, no, no, Gale -"

"Shut up! Who are you? You don't know anything!" I burst out, unable to hold my anger in anymore. "You don't know what it's like to loose a person in your family to a stupid accident! You have no idea what it's like to go without food for a few days! You're just some gaudy little town girl who has never had a single problem to deal with in her entire little perfect life!"

Madge immediately shuts herself up. My words register on her face as the full force of them hits her. Finally, after we've been standing there for a minute just glaring at each other, she takes a deep breath, walks over to a nearby bench, and takes a seat quietly.

I finally realize that maybe I hurt her feelings. I'm about to open my mouth to apologize, but Madge just turns and clamps her hand tightly over mine, making me unable to speak clearly.

"You're right, you know," she whispers. "But in a way, you're dead wrong."

"What? What do you mean?"

Madge sighs, and I can tell that she's about to tell me something important. "You know my mother, Mrs. Undersee, right?"

I frown, thinking hard. "No, actually I don't. I don't think I've ever seen her anywhere before, actually."

Madge's eyes harden. "Exactly my point, Gale. Ever since before I was even born, my mother has had some kind of terminal illness, something even the strongest doctors from the Capitol would have trouble treating. She's bedridden for life, apparently. She refuses to come out of her room, and she's always talking about some of the strangest things I've ever heard. Hallucinations, I think that they're called."

I lean forward and listen to Madge, appalled. "Why?"

Madge actually lets out a laugh, so forced and stale, it echoes around the silent square. "No one will tell me. I think it has something to do with my aunt Maysilee, though. I've asked my father more about it multiple times, but all he says is that it doesn't concern me."

"Of course it does!" I say, shocked. "You're her only daughter, right? You have the right to know."

Madge smiles sadly. "That's just the thing, Gale. I don't. There are so many secrets out there that we don't know about. It makes me wonder if life has always been this hard."

"Of course it has," I say instantly. I don't like to talk about the past. It simply makes me wonder about the same question Madge is asking right now.

"Has it really, though?" Madge shakes her head, letting her blonde hair get some air. "I hope you understand about what I meant when I said you were both right and wrong. I've lost someone too, Gale. Just not directly in the same way you have."

Madge stands up and begins walking back in the direction of her home.

"Wait!" I cry out.

Madge turns around and looks at me quizzically. "What is it?"

"I really am sorry though. For yelling at you. You don't deserve it."

Madge lets out a genuine smile, making me unconsciously smile back. "You're all right, Gale," she says. "You really are. See you in school. Bye."

I watch as she exits the square and runs down an alleyway, in the direction of the town neighborhood.

As I walk back to my run-down home in the Seam, I think about what Madge said about secrets. She's right; they're everywhere, whether you like it or not.

And no matter who you are, there's always going to be someone who knows something that you don't. Someone with adventures you didn't go through; experiences unknown to others. Surprises that only you and someone else share alone.

There's a surprise like that around every bend in life. You just have to keep an eye out for each one.

A/N: Should I write more Gale POV one-shots? Let me know in a review or something like that. Thanks. :)