At six years of age, Annie Cresta first laid eyes upon Finnick Odair.
Annie's family were not paticularly rich, nor were they paticularly poor. Her mother made nets for a living and sold them to the locals whilst her father was a fisherman like many others in the district. It was a Tuesday morning when Annie's sister, Clarisse, took her out on to the beach. The two Cresta girls sat together on the warm sand in their long, flowery dresses that reached down past their knees, Clarisse attempting to show her seven year old sister to tie knots properly. Young Annie however showed little interest in the demonstration as she moved her gaze towards the gently lapping waves. Her pretty green eyes took note of the froth remaining on the damp sand as the water was pulled back. What else could she see. . . a boat? Fishermen?
"Annie. . . Annie, are you listening?" Annie whipped her head around quickly to face her sister, flinching at the annoyed expression painted across her face. Clarisse sighed heavily, placing her unfinished net down. She adressed her sister once more, "Annie, this is important. You're going to have to do this yourself some day." Annie nodded as if she understood, and Clarisse went back to her demonstration, chattering away. Though she wasn't listening, Annie watched her sister as not to hurt her feelings. Clarisse was thirteen, six years older than Annie. She was quite pretty, with light brown hair and hazel eyes and pretty little freckles on her cheeks, but her face looked too worn and tired for someone her own age. Clarisse was a talented girl and helped her mother with the net making, but she was too afraid to fish. Annie adored Clarisse in every way, but she was often a pain to listen to.
Soon enough, Annie found her gaze travelling back towards the water, but Clarisse didn't seem to notice as the younger girl focused in on two figures not too far from them. One of them was a man - as far as Annie could tell - and the other a boy, probably around her age. Annie leaned forwards a little as to get a clearer view, jumping back as the man stabbed his trident into the water. She could see the boy watching him with interest, keeping as still as he possibly could. When he called out in triumph, the older man shushed him and Annie couldn't help but giggle.
"What're you laughing at?" Annie had almost forgotten about Clarisse who stared curiously at her. Clearing her throat, Annie shot another question back at her sister.
"Who's that?" she pointed towards the two figures with their backs to them. Clarisse squinted and leaned forwards before replying,
"I think that's Mr. Odair, and that's probably his son. Why?" Annie shrugged and so Clarisse went back to talking about knots.
One year later
Annie Cresta sat on the kitchen countertop, now seven years old. Her legs dangled down, almost touching the floor. As her Dad entered the room, Annie glanced up at him and took a deep breath in,
"Dad, can I come fishing with you?" Annie had asked her surprised father to which he replied,
"I suppose so. . . Do you really want to?" Annie nodded enthusiastically, her wavy hair bouncing up and down. Annie's father was tall and broad-shouldered. He looked like a firm man but in reality, he was kindly and fair. His hair was the same brown as Annie's and his eyes the same light hazel as Clarisse. He nodded, smiling warmly at his daughter, "Alright then, get ready and we'll go out on the boat," Annie hopped down from her place on the counter and raced off into her shared bedroom, slipping into her sandals.
The sea was calm that morning and many other fishermen were out on their early morning rounds. Annie's family were fortunate enough to own their own boat, so fishing was a much easier experience. But even in the shallow end, Annie felt unsafe as the old, wooden vessel creaked it's way through the water. Each time the boat rocked, Annie would lurch forwards in an attempt to save herself, much to the amusement of her father.
"It's just the waves Annie," he told his anxious-looking daughter who seemed seldom reassured by his words. She clung to the sides for dear life. A little further in, her father stopped paddling and cast his net across the side, "Now you have to be quiet Annie, okay?" Annie nodded and raised a finger to her lips to show she had understood the message.
After several minutes, Annie became restless and began fiddling with the hem of her dress. It had become muddy and dirty on the back and surely her mother would kill her. Glancing up, Annie took note of all the other fishermen further back into the shore, wading around in the shallow end with spears and tridents. She saw Mr. Odair, and his son. His son was tall and handsome, with bronze hair and pretty green eyes resembling the colour of the sea. He was a little older than Annie, at least by a few years, and she had never learnt his name. Annie watched as he stabbed his spear into the water in an attempt to catch a fish with little success. She giggled a little before remembering that her father was there - he didn't notice. As time progressed, Annie noticed that the wooden boat was moving more violently than before and much more quickly, but she said nothing. It wasn't until a wave crept up on the boat, taking both Annie and her father by surprise. Screaming out, her father lurched forward to grab her but it was too late as Annie was knocked over the edge of the boat and pulled by a strong current.
"Annie!" she could make out her father's voice as the water crashed around her, and if she could have screamed back she would have. As her head bobbed underwater, Annie's feet tried to find the ocean floor but they were out too deep. Thrashing wildly, Annie struggled to keep the herself afloat as she gasped for air, "She can't swim, she can't swim!" she could hear over the sounds of her own splashing. The disturbance of water caught her attention and a pair of hands clasped around her waist, pulling her towards the shore.
"It's okay, it's okay - I've got you." a boy's voice murmured into her ear. Annie could just make out the figure of her father having jumped into the water after her as she was dragged away. He looked shaken and scared, but there was relief spreading across his face. Annie coughed, trying to expel the water from her lungs - she felt nauteous and headachey. As they reached the shore, Annie heard the voice of her saviour,
"Are you okay?" the boy sat cross-legged behind her, holding her close. Annie nodded slowly, whimpering a little, "What's your name?"
"A-Annie. . ." she managed to say in response, still shivering as she blinked in shock. He squeezed her in a reassuring manner.
"I've got you Annie, it's okay. . ."
