Gale knew that he was happy somehow.
No, he had never found love again but he still loved his old hunting partner. In district 2, he would sneak out of his house just before dawn to go hunting, hoping that Katniss would be there somehow. He wished that she would take a train into district 2 and then surprise him.
She never did though. She stayed in district 12 with Peeta and her two kids: a boy and a girl.
One day many years after the end of the war and the rebellion, Gale took a train into the district. He lingered in the woods outside Victor's Village. It was Sunday, a hunting day.
He waited and he waited. Much after dawn around 9 o'clock that day, Peeta emerged from the house. He wasn't alone though. He was with Katniss and their two kids.
The boy and the girl ran on ahead onto the walking path. Katniss and Peeta were linked by their hands intertwined.
Finally, Gale realized that it was about time to let go of the girl he met in the woods all those years ago.
He knew that they were meant to be together now. In reality, he knew it all along.
Tears formed in his eyes. He hardly ever cried, but this was something worth crying for. He was saying goodbye to his best friend, without being able to say it to her face.
Silently, he whispered goodbye.
Then, he was gone from her life forever, never to return.
