Sweet flowers blew in the spring wind as Ryden walked through the meadow. His older sister, Willow, was walking up ahead of him a ways. They both loved spending time in the meadow. It was so comforting, like it was a part of them somehow. Neither could really explain it.
A scream pierces through the air. None of the nature is disturbed. Either it doesn't care or just doesn't tack any importance on the noise. Ryden jumped and turned to his sister. Willow shakes her head. It wasn't her.
Another scream. And they run.
Reaching their house took no time at all. They never ventured far from it anyway. When Ryden burst through the front door, he found his father grabbing onto a kitchen chair, eyes closed and knuckles ghostly white, and his mother behind him, rubbing his back. A strange combination of relief and worry filled Ryden as he took in the familiar sight. He had seen both his mother and his father in this state quite often.
Once, when Ryden was about seven, he asked his mother why his dad would get scared and yell at random times. She tried to answer, but all she could get out was, "Well the Hunger Games," before she got confused and had to lie down. It never made much since to Ryden, but he tried to never bring it up with his mother again. Willow told him all about the Games later on, and they learned about them in school, but Ryden still didn't quite understand why it effected his parents so much. They lived and have a better life now. He just didn't get how the memories could still be so real, even if it had been so long since the events that caused those memories had happened.
Now, seeing his father in the kitchen, hurt him. He always hated seeing him like this. His father was always so strong and in control of things. He built up most of their house on his own, and he grew a lot of plants in their garden. Whenever Ryden or Willow would get hurt, their dad was the first by their side to care for them with such gentleness that neither of the kids ever wanted him to let them go.
It took about five minutes for their father to finally come out of his daze. He looked to each of them painfully, the confusion evident in his blue eyes.
"What was it, Peeta?" Their mother asked softly, still running her hand across his back. Their dad took a shuddering breath.
"Cato's death."
Their mother just nodded as their dad turned around and embraced her hard.
Nether Ryden nor his sister ever asked for elaborations on their parent's flashbacks. They figured that if they wanted them to know, they'd tell them. For now, they would just hold their parents and try and comfort them the best that they could. What else was there to do, anyway? By the way that they talk about it at school, and the way their parents act, you can never really escape the Games.
Not really.