He left, I ran. I ran as fast and as far as I could, I had to get away. The flames filled the streets, engulfing buildings, turning memories to ashes. I heard his shouting, but he was gone.
I woke up in a hospital in District 4. Goodness knows how I got there, but I did. I had been asleep, in a coma that is, for longer than they could remember. Putting one hand on my shoulder, a doctor knelt beside me, a look of pity in his eyes. It was then that I looked down to see that I was seated in a wheelchair, and, as he informed me, I had lost all ability to move from the waist down.
Lucky to be alive, at least, I still tell myself. I've taken to photography, and I enjoy the peace of the district. As a beautiful bird sweeps by, I focus my lens, but something stops me. I hear a voice, I see a smile. Cautious at first, but then he runs to me, faster than I could have imagined. I want to run too, but I can't. Instead, he lifts me from my chair and spins me around. He smells like strawberries and home, and I feel safe.
Gale & Madge