DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I don't own The Hunger Games.

And, I want to thank my brilliant beta again, TheStoryOf14


Chapter 2 -

Katniss had almost finished her walk around town after she left, with only the baker's order still untouched in her bag, which was extremely light by now. There were several reasons for keeping the bakery to the end, and not only because it was the place nearest to the butcher she had to deliver to. It was mainly for the fresh smell of bread that she could never get enough of.

The first time she entered the Bakery she'd needed a couple of minutes and some hostile glances sent to her by Mrs. Mellark to realize where she was. The Bakery radiated homely coziness and warmth, and the fresh smell of bread was so intense that Katniss could have sworn she almost tasted it. She couldn't help but stare open-mouthed at the different types of bread, cakes and especially pastries; big ones, small ones, some with cream on top and some with fruity toppings or some chocolate on top of it - it was literally mouth watering.

Every time she stepped inside the Mellark's Bakery she felt like she was in another world, a warmer one, and the smell that filled her from the inside reminded her of some of the best moments she'd ever had.

She let herself be carried away by distant memories as she stepped inside and found the store strangely empty. Usually people would be waiting here up to half an hour to get some bread, and now there wasn't a living soul in the place. Katniss stopped and took a moment to realize what was going on - the smell of fresh bread wasn't quite as strong as it was last time, and Mr. Mellark wasn't sitting next to the counter. The lights were dim and she had a strong feeling that she shouldn't be there, but she couldn't help herself. The place seemed darker and daunting, but her feet refused to move.

"Who's there?" The silence was broken by a man's question and the sound of his footsteps coming along. The kitchen door was swung open and the familiar face of Peeta Mellark appeared.

"Katniss." He stated softly and she noticed the way his blue eyes softened.

Katniss met Peeta when she was six years old on the first day of elementary school, and since then they saw each other almost daily in school until they graduated. His family had lived in Warsaw before World War 1, and when Poland became independent after Germany's disgraceful loss, the Mellarks chose to stay and rebuilt their Bakery in Warsaw. Peeta was a handsome German boy with blonde curls and big sapphire eyes, with broad shoulders and a solid figure. In the years she'd known him, he had grown from a little boy with sweet dimples to a breath-taking, succesful young man; he was popular, loved and admired by almost every female in school, but even though they'd known each other for over 12 years, they'd never actually had a conversation past "Can I pass" or "Could you hand me that crayon please? Katniss wasn't a social butterfly like her little sister. She kept to herself, especially after her father's unfortunate death.

She didn't know why, but she felt as if she oughtn't be there and was caught in the middle of doing something forbidden. "You missed the 'Closed' sign?" he broke the awkward silence and stepped towards the counter, the corners of his mouth curved into a small smile.

"I just brought the meat." She finally managed to get out, but her eyes never left his. Usually, Mr. Mellark was standing next to the counter, always ready to exchange a few warm words with Katniss, and she almost felt comfortable with him now, but this was new to her - and she hated unfamiliar moments. "I'm sorry." She remembered she should be polite, mainly to costumers.

"Don't be, it was on short notice. Guess people didn't feel like leaving their houses today." He frowned a little, but she couldn't figure out why. "It's good to see you." He admitted softly and she realized he wasn't looking at her.

The only thing she did was to lick her wind chapped lips, and, for some reason, she was a bit annoyed with his kindness. It made her feel like she owed him something. She took her bag from her shoulders and took the lamb leg from it -it was the most expensive meat they had in the store and Katniss would have towaste two weeks salary to buy it. She took a few slow steps to Peeta and handed him the meat. He looked at her for a brief moment and opened the top drawer and pulled out, to Katniss amazement, too much paper money. He handed her back the money for the lamb meat, but he played with the money in his hands for one second longer, slightly frowning at it. He froze for a second and his blue eyes found hers easily somehow, he suddenly looked much older than the 18 years she knew him to be. He stared at her with stormy eyes until he blinked and his gaze was clear and he shook his head, like he dismissed a thought.

Katniss felt like something was twirling around her, like an electric buzz in the air, and it seemed like everyone heard it, except for her. "Have a good day." She said politely, although all she wanted to do was to ask him what the hell was wrong with everybody - first Sau's pity, and now his puzzled glances.

"Take care, Katniss." His voice was too tender, and he frowned again. He sounded as if he really thought that she had a reason to need to be careful. Katniss placed her bag on her shoulders and turned to leave. She stepped out of the shop, and just before she started to walk away she glanced back to the shop. Peeta was still sitting there with the money in his hands and his eyes were fixed on her. Something inside her didn't like it, but she couldn't name it. The thought was dismissed as soon as she saw a German truck make its way past her. Katniss didn't dare to move, only her eyes followed it and blinked - Once - Twice. But the German truck was still there and suddenly she felt weak and exhausted.

The walk back home after work was different, for lack of a better word. People finally left their safe houses, but everything seemed to be in fast motion - nobody stopped for or talked to anybody. Every single person out on the streets looked like they were half running, eyes fixed on the concrete pavement, seemingly trying to avoid acknowledging the world around them. No children played out in the streets, and the few that were outside were held tightly by their worried mothers.

It was unfamiliar to her, and finally she felt that same buzz that everyone seemed to have been feeling for the past month. It hit her without a warning - maybe it was the German soldier that she just passed, or the sound of a crying baby, (but did it even matter what made her feel it, she wondered?). Goosebumps covered her arms and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. There was a sense of foreboding in the air, and she just wanted to get home, because the streets felt dangerous at the moment.

As the sun set Katniss made her way to her neighbourhood. It was a small Jewish neighbourhood close enough to the center, but far enough from it so it was quieter, and more domestic. There was laundry hanging from almost every window and small little squares between the tall and gray buildings. Katniss walked through the small alleys that were filled with different posters. She felt more comfortable around this place she called home, although everything felt darker than it used to be. Her shuddering breaths were all she heard as she tightened her jacket around her torso to protect herself from the cold wind.

She heard several men laugh when she stepped out of an alley and she froze on the spot. The voices were deep and had a foreign accent. They were German. Katniss didn't need to see them to know that. Usually, she trusted her instincts, and now they were telling, no, yelling at her to turn around and leave, but before she noticed her legs started to move on their own, straight to the laugher source.

Katniss was always good at sneaking, thank god, so no one heard her footsteps when she leaned against a wall that was partly hidden in the shadows. She could tell that they were right behind her now, and she was sure that they were able to hear her heartbeats. It felt like her heart would burst out of her chest in any second now. Katniss didn't know why she acted so cautiously, but it just felt wrong, as if she wasn't supposed to be there. Now, so close to the source of the noise, she heard that they were actually talking in German and her heart fell. Somehow, she had still hoped that she was mistaken, that there were no German soldiers in her peaceful neighbourhood.

She slowly reached the wall's corner, her hands rested on the cold stone against her back. As she heard another voice, Katniss turned her head and her heart stopped instantly.

Four young German soldiers stood in a circle. They were tall, well-built and if not for their evil smirks Katniss would have considered them handsome. No. Impressive. They surrounded an old man she knew by face only. She recognized him from the early morning walks dad used to take her on, and she always saw him leaving the synagogue in his typical black suit, matching black hat and wearing a long, thick silver beard. He was an Orthodox Jew.

She watched as the tallest soldier took out a pair of old scissors, and her eyes widened with pure shock as he grabbed the old man's beard roughly and held it within his hand in less than a second. The old man just stood there, quietly, his eyes blurred with tears. He didn't move, didn't protest. He was completely submissive to the soldiers will.

Katniss was somehow transfixed by this scene, and found she couldn't move even if she wanted to, so she just stayed there, watching without them knowing it. Apparently, the Germans hadn't done enough. They threw away his black hat and tore it apart. Than they took off his black suit and revealed his tallit and cut off the fringes of it. As they took away the old man's clothes, she could see his dignity disappearing as well

Katniss wasn't paying attention to the Germans anymore, she heard nothing but the foreign words they were shouting at him. Her gaze was locked on the man's eyes - they were filled with pure sorrow. Then, suddenly two things happened simultaneously.

At first, the old man's eyes snapped in her direction sharply and Katniss held a breath at the sight of his empty eyes. Then she saw from the corner of her eye a clenched fist that hit him straight in his abdomen. His eyes were fixed on her when he let out a cry of pain and in response she inhaled air sharply and loudly.

Everything froze for a tiny moment as Katniss realized that the Germans heard her. They were now all glaring in her direction, and the gazes of those five men were on her. While she held her breath, her brain worked hard to comprehend the meaning of it all.

Everything seemed to move again when the tall German soldier, the one that cut the beard, turned to her and started to move towards her, but now everything moved in fast-motion, and before Katniss had really registered it, her legs were taking her away.

It was already pitch black outside and there wasn't a living soul in the streets and Katniss ran, and it felt like she was running for her life. All she heard were her deep, hurried breaths, her light footsteps and four other pairs of leg that chased her. She ran faster than she thought she could, her heartbeats echoed in her head and her lungs burned in the need for oxygen, but she never stopped. Katniss took all the wrong turns in the tiniest alleys, trying to get rid of her foreign chasers. She couldn't think straight as she was making her way through the streets she knew, she was afraid to think about the consequences of her being caught. Katniss didn't know what it meant to be caught, but she did know that she wouldn't be coming home if she got caught. A single picture of Prim in her mind was enough to make her forget about her aching lungs and her legs started to move even quicker.

Suddenly the silence surrounding her became more prominent, and she realized that she'd lost them. She'd tricked them through all the little passages, but she couldn't stop running. It wasn't for her life now, it was for her sanity, and all she wanted to do was to go home and see her father sitting by the old piano, to hear her mother's laughter in the background.

She ran and ran, her eyes stinging from the wind that blew in her face. She saw her building and ran into it, and climbed the staircase two steps at a time. When she burst into the their little grey apartment she was overwhelmed by the amount of disappointment she felt when there were no piano, and her dad wasn't sitting beside it. But she saw Prim. She sat next to the table with her hands around a cup of tea and her blue eyes were full with concern. Katniss tried to move towards Prim without saying a word and she noticed that her braid got lose, and she was covered with sweat. She closed the gap between her and her little, beautiful sister and hugged her tightly, burning her face and inhaled her sweet scent.

But it didn't help. The look in the old man's eyes still haunted her


A\N

So, I've mentioned here the word "Talit". It is a Jewish prayer shawl. I was talking about the 'Little Talit', which is a fringed garment traditionally worn either under or over one's clothing by Jewish men.

Every time I'll mention some Jewish\unknown phrase I'll add an explanation here.

If you have any question feel free to PM, and thank you for the reviews!

Please, Read and Review,

Rony :)