Chapter One: Guardian Angel
I have never felt lower in my life, never felt more desperate. You'd think it would be the day Dad died, but that was just the harbinger of ill tide. It's amazing how quickly things change. You never see it coming, like a sucker punch, every plan you ever had, every thought you took for granted, gone with the ash. When Daddy died it was so hard to understand. The words, Daddy died. Daddy died. Daddy's dead. echoed all through my head, bouncing around the walls of my skull, mere sounds which garnered no understanding. I remember holding Prim tight, like I might lose her too, and Momma held both of us as we all cried and cried. I remember nuzzling my head into my mother's breast and breathing her scent in, comforted. At least we had each other. I clung to her, our only rock left, our refuge. The next morning came, and Momma wouldn't get up. It was like thinking you were holding onto driftwood in a flood, only to realise it's sinking metal. Your refuge is torn from you, was never a refuge at all. You flail, and choke on water, can't even make a noise. There's no air, only panic, and terror, such terror. It imprisons you like prey lured to a dead end, rushing this way and that, trying to bolt; the terror and panic in their eyes…my eyes…crippling them. Desperation. You swim or die. I tried to swim, while holding Prim above the powerful waves. It's so hard to manage even yourself against the tide. So here I am, soaked to the bone, drowning, and the icy rain falling is still warmer than the chill in my soul, the desperate ache in my ribcage, as I scrounge for scraps in the garbage bins in town, but there is nothing. I am nothing. The mines took all of us.
A raw, wrenching cry rises up in me. I keel over with it. There's no food. We're done. I failed. It's like I can feel the severing of my life's thread. I am dead. Soon everyone will know it. I'm only eleven, so close to tesserae, but I have no energy and no hope. The merchant's trash was my last shot, but there's not even trash for me. My knees buckle, but I can't stay here, so I crawl through the mud to the meagre refuge of an apple tree by the bakery. I bet I look like those stragglers that lie down and die in the meadow. It's a beautiful place to die. Maybe I'd go too if I had the energy. This apple tree will have to do. If only it had fruit.
I sit here under it, too raw for tears, as the water drenches me, and my fingers and lips turn blue. I don't dare look at the bakery. The smell of it is cruel enough, to look and see inside the warmth, the light, and the food–all the food, mountains of food–not for me, would be too much. It would be the final confirmation I am nothing, will never be anything, locked out, not worthy to even eat the scraps. No one cares about Katniss Everdeen; no one cares about the Everdeens at all. All the people Momma healed, and all the people Daddy stood up for, worked with, not one of them had a care to return the favour. No one. It hurts. I close my eyes, unable to get up and face my sister with her hollow cheeks, and cracked lips. Does she even understand how bad it is? Gentle Prim who still cleans Daddy's shaving mirror everyday like that'll somehow bring him home? Maybe they'll send me to the Home, but hopefully I'll die long before I have to face the failure embodied in a broken Prim. I was supposed to protect her.
I've almost passed out from the hunger, fallen asleep from the cold, when I hear slushy footprints walking towards me. It's probably peacekeepers, or maybe the baker is running me off, or someone's going to drag me to the Community Home. I muster the energy to open my eyes, and turn my head over expecting to see a cruel face, a harsh twist of sneering lips, instead I am greeted with a smile. It is a gentle, kind smile. Not the kind that is fake, or is so peppy it ignores reality, or is just really forced, but the kind that comes at the end of a hard day when there's really no joy to be had, except you see someone you love…and you smile. I can't imagine why this man'd be smiling at me like that. I feel nervous.
He kneels next to me in the mud, ruining his slacks. The rain is drenching him now too, plastering his blonde hair to his head, but he doesn't seem to care. He looks to be about mid-twenties, fair with blue eyes, like most people in town. He looks healthy, nothing like me. I just want to know what he wants. Get this over with.
"You're Katniss, right?" The man, Mr. Mellark I suppose, looks at me earnestly, and he seems sincere, concerned. How does he know my name? I tense and I nod vaguely.
"Jack Everdeen's daughter?"
I nod again, and tears fill my eyes at the words, at what seems like the compassion behind them, at the recognition, the gentleness… at Daddy. His eyes seem unbearably tender. He sighs.
"I'm sorry about your Dad. He was a good friend of mine." He shakes his head. "I should have visited, but…I didn't want to make things worse for you."
What he means by that, I couldn't say.
"How do you mean?" He hesitates a moment, and I worry he won't answer, but he meets my tentative gaze.
"I used to trade with him, bread for squirrels and the like. He was a good man. I liked him. We talked sometimes."
Yes, that makes sense. It would have been around the entire district if some townie walked up to our house. He's right; it probably wouldn't have been a good idea. I'd wonder what everyone else's excuse was, but talking to someone, anyone at all, who seems to care is warming me in spite of myself.
"Here." He pulls a package out from under his jacket, and presses it into my hands. It's bread, I realise: Three loaves. The tears overflow. I am overwhelmed, shocked. No one just gives food away in Twelve. I look up for a catch, but he just smiles sadly. "For your father's sake," he says. I can accept that.
With a sudden spurt of energy, I lean over, grasp him in a quick hug, mutter, "Thank you," and dash off back home. I think I hear him say, "Anytime," with remarkable sincerity, but I'm not sure. Either way, his kindness is unparalleled.
When I wake up the next morning the world feels different, warmer, not quite so hopeless, not quite so alone. It's like Mr. Mellark's kindness has stayed with me, penetrated me. Still, I know something is going to have to change. I can't just keep reacting, hoping for more people like Mr. Mellark, (if they even exist). My pride won't take it anyway. You don't sit back and let people hand you stuff. You work for it. In the back of my mind, I take pride in the words Mr. Mellark said, how he identified me: You're Jack Everdeen's daughter. I am, I think, and Daddy wouldn't want me to quit, lie down in the dirt. When I spy a dandelion on my way to school, I know how we'll survive. The spring truly returns to my step. I look back at Prim who's trailing behind me, holding my hand, and smile.
It takes some time, of course, to be sure I know all the edible plants off by heart, to know where and when to find them without Daddy watching over my shoulder, but soon the woods are my refuge. I find food there, sustenance, comfort. As the seasons change, I spend hours upon hours in the summer practicing my shooting, making more arrows, storing food for winter. Between my poaching and my tesserae, we are managing. Prim brings my mother out into the sun more, and the return of meat to the house slowly seems to rouse her from her stupor. Prim gives her some kind of medicine that's supposed to help. I guess it works. Momma's not the same, but it'll do. She's functional. Prim is thrilled. Hugging Mom over and over, and smiling, like she's back from the dead, which she may as well be. Me though, I hug mom stiffly, once, but I don't know what else to do when she looks at me with sad eyes. The damage is done. I can no longer rely on her. Things have changed. They'll never go back. Where's the use in pretending? Her arms are no longer my refuge. There are the woods for that. That will have to be enough. It's not that I hate her. It's just that I can't pretend to be younger than I was forced to grow to be. I don't fit that niche anymore. I won't nuzzle into her a chest again. I can't need her, don't know how to trust her. I'm glad Prim is happy. I keep my thoughts to myself.
It is about five or six months after the incident with Mr. Mellark that I see him again. We, Gale, a boy I became poaching allies with over the last month, and I, have excitedly hauled up our first ever deer into the butcher's, and are just leaving with the cash. I've never seen so much before, I can only imagine what more I would've gotten if the doe had been intact. Even better, I now know I can trade with the butcher for currency if I need to, so it's a good day when Mr. Mellark walks out from the back room.
"Hi, Katniss," he greets cheerfully. "Aunt Rooba just told me about that deer you and your buddy shot down." He nods at Gale as he says this. "If you ever get a squirrel, feel free to come down to the bakery, or better yet, actually, just come to my place." He rattles off an address I quickly try to memorise. "My brother's not too keen on trading." He winks, pats me firmly on the shoulder, says he's glad to see I'm doing better, acknowledges Gale politely, and heads back to the bakery. He's humming a cheery tune. All in all, it's a short exchange, but I feel a sense of pride go through me that he didn't make a mistake in giving me that bread. You're Jack Everdeen's daughter. I can get him that squirrel.
Gale doesn't look nearly so pleased I notice as we head back to the Seam. His brow is furrowed, and his fists are buried so deep into his pockets they seem to bow his body forward. His breathing is strained.
"What's your problem?" I ask, probably more defensively than I needed to.
"He is my problem." Gale huffs, and there's no doubt to whom he's referring. "It's sick. His type. Worse than Cray."
"Worse than Cray?" I am utterly confused. Cray gives desperate women a pittance to warm his bed. How could Mr. Mellark ever be compared to such an odious man?
"Haven't you heard, Catnip?"
"Heard what?" I'm getting mad now. Gale can be patronising at the best of times. It's clear he thinks I'm just some little kid he had better put up with. Gale stops in is tracks, and pivots around to look at me intently. His rage matches mine.
"They say he gives out food to starving kids, but in return he expects them to…stay over…at his place. You get what I mean? They say that's why he's never married. He has preferences."
Unfortunately, I know what he's hinting at, and it taints the memory of Mr. Mellark giving me that bread right when I most needed it. Is this why he wants me to come to his place? Is he really worse than Cray? Does he expect something? It's hard to believe. His smile, his warmth, had seemed so genuine. Now I worry I've been played for a fool.
"I get what you mean, but we trade with Cray too, and I'm not going to turn my nose up at a bargain that could help my family. Besides, my dad used to trade with him. He can't be all that bad."
Gale shakes his head like I'm so naive, and it pisses me off. He presses forward against the cold wind. "Suit yourself, Catnip. I just don't like it. Don't do anything stupid."
"I won't!" I snarl. He's reaching to touch a part of me that is far to vulnerable for such callous exposure. We part ways quickly after splitting our haul. My good mood killed.
The next morning I rise before dawn and shoot a squirrel determined to know the truth for myself. I am absolutely dwarfed in my father's leather hunting jacket I insist on wearing, no matter how pathetic it seems. I stomp into town gripping the handle of my knife in my pocket. I doubt I'll need it, but still, I feel uptight. I draw in a quick breathe to fortify myself, and knock on the door.
"Katniss!" Mr. Mellark exclaims looking thrilled to see me, his eyebrows comically risen on his forehead. "Wow! You came faster than I could have hoped. Why don't you come in?" He opens the door wider and gestures grandly for me to enter. "I'll just get something for you." I'm tempted to say I'll wait, but it seems rather rude to a man who has been so seemingly kind.
His house is bright. I wonder if he's decorated it himself. There are beautiful pictures, sketches, and paintings on the walls. Most look like they could be from Twelve. But some look like the scribbles of children which feels makes me feel like I've swallowed stones. He leads me into the kitchen and I can see breakfast is on the table. I have interrupted him, as well as two children I'm pretty sure are from the Community Home who are sitting there. I almost throw up.
"How many squirrels have you got me? And how would you prefer I pay? Bread or coin?" He asks. I try to shake myself out of my horror. "Katniss?"
"Umm…Just the one squirrel, and, um, bread, please." I am utterly unable to take my eyes off of the children in front of me. They look about five and six. I think I really might puke.
Peeta just nods agreeably and goes to a bread box at the counter where he pulls out a loaf of sourdough which he places neatly in a paper bag and hands over at me.
"Katniss?" He asks again. I must really look bad.
"Yes, I'm fine." I panic. "I just…I'm not used to being up this early." He chuckles at that.
"Yes, the early mornings are hard to get used to." He glances over at the children who are shyly pretending not to look at us. "You two done?" His voice is jovial.
"Yes, Mr. Peeta." The young boy mutters, and grabs the hand of the little girl I assume must be his sister. Peeta looks back at me, because somehow I haven't been able to move myself out of there as quickly as possible. "I don't suppose you mind walking them back to the Home? I'm running a bit late."
"Yes, of course." I seize my chance, and grab the boy's hand, and he pulls his younger sister behind him. I nod goodbye to Mr. Mellark, and dash out the door.
Watching them though, they seem shy, but not…harmed in anyway, and I wonder if I'm overreacting. Mr. Mellark didn't seem horrible, hadn't propositioned me for anything, but then again not everyone who is awful looks like it. Yet I find it hard to believe though that my Dad would have traded with someone who was a pedophile. Cray is awful, but to use children…
"Do you like Mr. Mellark?"
"Uh, huh." It's the girl that answers. "He's nice. He lets us eat until we're full sometimes, and if someone stole our place, he gives us a bed."
"Does he ever…hurt you? Make you do…funny things?" How am I really supposed to phrase it? Does Mr. Mellark fondle you? Give you food and a roof over your head in exchange for satisfying his sexual perversions? I can't even begin the process of saying it out loud.
"No." The boy stops walking and stares forcefully up at me. He seems intently serious, more than his age should be. "There are a lot of people like that, but not Mr. Mellark. He's really nice."
"Sometimes he bakes cookies with us!" The little girl pipes in. The boy sighs at her optimism, and when his Seam grey eyes properly meet my own, I see an abject loss of innocence. I wonder what he's seen. I wonder what he's been through.
"I know what you're really asking, but he's not like that, and don't ever let noone say otherwise."
After that he won't say another word, but his sister rambles on and on, about how Mr. Mellark had tucked her in at night, and told her a bedtime story, and how it was so warm, and they actually had enough blankets for once. I feel incredibly relieved, and also guilty for even doubting him: The Kind Man With the Bread.
I take to trading with Mr. Mellark–Peeta, he insists I can call him–about once a week or so. I keep an eye on him at other times too, and as the weeks pass I notice a variety of regular children who frequent his property. Mostly they are children from the Community Home, but there are others who are from truly broken homes who stay over at Mr. Mellark's when they need a warm roof over their heads. The most he'll ever ask is that they make their bed, or help him with breakfast. There's a sixteen year old called Jude, Peeta's known since he was about eleven, who runs errands for him. Peeta's never even asked. Jude just looks up to him that much, or owes him that much, I suppose. Peeta's become every stray's older brother and father. I see him playing soccer with them in the backyard, or teaching them chess on the porch. Once he bought a young girl a new dress she was desperately in need of, and she proudly twirled it for me. I can easily see how he got such a terrible reputation. No one is going to think well of some Townie who hangs around with Seam children, giving them food and warmth, especially ones who are impoverished even by our standards. No one gives away food here, especially crossing the class lines. Clearly there has to be something salacious. No one's that nice. Peeta is though, and he's made a pariah for it.
"Why do you do it?" I ask him one morning when he invites me in. It's one of those rare mornings he offers to have breakfast with me and the Home kids aren't there too. Maybe that's why it's also the first time I accept.
"Do what?" He seems genuinely confused.
"Help all those kids. Most people wouldn't. And you must know what they say about you."
He laughs at this, and shakes his head.
"Oh yeah, I know what they say. I didn't plan it, you know."
"I didn't think you did." I mutter a bit annoyed at the idea that he might be laughing at me, but he just tugs on my braid good-naturedly and I feel my ire melt a bit.
"It happened sort of gradually, I guess." He shrugs and spoons up a bit more oatmeal. "I noticed that there were a lot of kids digging around the trash cans. Mom hated it, used to run them off, but I felt bad. Children were starving, and she would go and yell at them,and threaten to call the White Shirts, and I'd give food we had to the pigs." He's not laughing now. He's looking far-off like he's playing out a distant, painful memory in his head. "So I started to leave food out for them, and when I got older, got a place of my own–anything to get away from Mom, to be honest–I noticed a young boy on the street. It was winter, bitter cold, I knew he probably wouldn't wake up again if he fell asleep out there, so I brought him in. That was Jude. He was the first. It all snowballed from there. They kept coming, I'd see them on the street, locked out of the Home, and I couldn't turn them away. We're supposed to protect children, take care of them, not hit them, not watch them starve and freeze to death" His words drag me back to when I was the one starving and freezing, and I am so lost in the echoes of despair and gratitude, I almost miss the words he whispers next. "Or get thrown into arenas."
"Is that why you never married?" The reference to the Games draws the question from my lips before I even have time to think. Having already decided myself never to love or marry for precisely that reason, if no other, I find myself quite sympathetic.
"No, not really. I'm just picky." He picks up his bowl and mine and goes to the sink where he starts washing them up. I stand and grab a towel to help dry. "In town, a lot of people marry for advantage. Oldest son inherits, others apprentice out, often marry the daughter inheriting another business, so on and so forth. My parents have a marriage like that." I look at his profile and see a tensing in his jaw, and I can tell this topic is difficult for him. "They don't like each other very much, and mother's bitterness spills over everywhere. I swore that would never be me, even if it meant the mines."
"But it didn't?" This seems intrinsically important to me. I would not want to see Peeta in the mines. I wouldn't want to see anyone in the mines, but Peeta is the nicest man in my life now that Daddy's gone, and that makes the image ten times worse.
"No, Ryen hated the bakery so much he apprenticed out to become a blacksmith, so I didn't have to worry too much. The bakery can support both me and my brother. Still, to be on the safe side, it would've been good for me to marry well. I just never met any woman who I thought I could be happy with. They either don't approve of me or what I do, or we have nothing in common, or I'm not attracted to them, or as the youngest and least financially secure son, they want nothing to do with me."
"I'm sorry." I say, and I am, because even though I never want to marry and never want to have kids, I am sad that such a nice man seems so alone. He flicks water up at me clearly unencumbered by such thoughts.
"Don't look so gloomy, Miss Sunshine," he teases. "Do I look unhappy to you?"
"No." He drags a smile out of me, and gives me a loaf of bread to trade as I leave, telling me to drop by "anytime,". The little girl I met when I first traded with him, I've learned her name is Sarai, runs up and gives him a hug.
"Morning, Little Angel!" he greets, and I realise Mr. Mellark never needed to be a husband to be a father. When I hug Prim in my arms that night, I realise I'm not much different there.
After our conversation that day, I do try to drop by every once in awhile. I tell myself it's to make sure he's okay. The truth is when I have my bad days, just walking by his house makes me feel better, reminds me that in the crushing grinder of life, there are people who will care. Someone who'll listen. I've noticed I have an unfortunate weakness for kind people, but it is New Years Eve that ruins me.
I go to visit Peeta and wish him a Happy New Year when he invites me in saying he has a present for me. Inside there seems to be a little party going on. There is music playing, and I glance into the living room to see Peeta has clearly tried to bring some holiday cheer into his kids' lives, but it is not the living room he takes me too. He takes me to some kind of office or studio where he presents me with a picture frame deliberately turned upside down. I turn it over and there is a beautiful painting of my father. The expression captured is perfect. The woods look incredibly real. His eyes are shining as brightly as they did in life. I realise Peeta must have painted this, must have made all the pictures around here. I'm impressed at his talent but that is lost behind the well of emotions which have broken through the dam I have built around them. Mom looks at the picture of Dad all the time, but I haven't been able to bear looking at his visage since the day he died. Now he is here in front of me. Tears stream down my cheeks. I don't know how it happened, but Peeta's arms are around me as I sob and sob and sob. I've been trying to be brave so long, I haven't really cried.
"Shh. Shh," he whispers as he rubs my back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."
I shudder and gasp as I try to find the words. I settle for shaking my head and snuggle deeper into his chest as his arms encircle me. I haven't been held like this since the day my father died, and I feel safe. I feel small, not like a bug about to be crushed under your foot small, small like a chick under their mother's wing. The thought makes me shake and cry harder. I've missed this. I've needed this.
"It's perfect, Peeta. Thank you."
I pull away reluctantly and through watery eyes I see blue eyes meet mine. Something flops and rises in my chest; I know now, I will never be able to claw this man out of my heart, the guardian angel my father sent from beyond the grave.