Chapter 1
Is That Prim?
"Mommy! Mommy!" Willow comes running up to me. "What is it, Cookie?" I ask. "Rye fell down!" she explains. "Go pick him up then," I tell her. She nods and runs to her younger brother.
I turn around to see Peeta sitting next to me on the grass. "What's got you so worried?" he asks.
"Nothing," I reply. "Just a bad dream."
"About her?" he asks. I nod. He means Prim. My sister.
"Katniss," Peeta says, "why are you always so worried? She's in a better place now. She'll come back to you."
I lay my head on Peeta's shoulder. "I know. But I miss her. And Finnick."
"Not Gale?" Peeta asks, grinning. "Shoo!" I nudge him. "OK, OK, I'm sorry," Peeta laughs. "But he misses you, I bet," he adds. "Peeta!" I nearly yell. "I'm sorry, Katniss, I'm sorry," he grins.
"It's OK," I say. Suddenly, I see a girl poke her head out from behind a bush. She has blue eyes and blonde hair and her face was as fresh as a raindrop. We all know there's only one person with a fresh-as-a-raindrop face. Prim.
Before I could stop myself, I tear away from Peeta and run to her. To Prim. To my sister. But she's off. Running away. I stop. Why would Prim run away? Prim doesn't run from me. It probably wasn't Prim.
"Katniss!" Peeta calls as he comes running towards me. "I saw Prim," I whisper but I'm barely audible. "I saw her. It was Prim. I knew it. But she ran away."
"Oh, Katniss," Peeta lays his hands on my shoulders. "It can't be Prim. You were just hallucinating, probably. If it was her, she wouldn't have run off like that."
I hug Peeta as hard as I can, tears streaming down my face. Willow comes running to us, Rye following closely behind.
"I saw her. I saw Prim," I whisper. "Mommy, who's Prim?" Willow asks. "She's your aunt. Aunt Prim," I pull away from Peeta. "What happened to her?" Rye asks. "She's somewhere better now," I say. "Come on, let's go have tea," Peeta says, shooing the kids inside. I shoot him a grateful smile.
"Daddy, these are yummy!" Willow says, chewing on the scone Peeta baked.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Cookie," I say. She nods.
I look out the window and I see her again. Prim. This time she doesn't run away when I see her. She's come to me. She's alive. And she's here.