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It felt strange, having two sisters.

But it wasn't the strange that gave you shivers; like when we were forced to adjust to Panem. This strange gave me a curious, warm sensation that filled me like the fireplace back at home.

Belladonna was always smiling and squealing loudly. The noise cut through the stiff silence of our house, and I loved it. She always a sparkle in her eyes and was more than willing to play games with us.

We shortened her name to Donnie, since papa and mama agreed that calling her 'Belladonna' would be a mouth full. But it didn't matter - she represented the flower that grew in our home, the light in this world, and was a reminder that happiness came at strange times.

Anxol and I had to pry ourselves away from Donnie every morning before going to school. We would rush back to the house immediately after we were dismissed from the labs. Anxol and I spent countless hours just playing with Donnie; hide-and-seek, peek-a-boo. We sang her songs and made silly dances that she giggled loudly to.

Donnie seemed to brighten up our whole family. She filled in the missing gap that we didn't know was there.

Papa tossed her up in the air and caught her, spinning her around in crazy circles. He blew into her stomach and spoke to her in the special baby-voice he reserves for children. Mama would cuddle with Donnie for hours and took delight in reading to her. Mama cleaned Donnie and sang sweet lullabies to her before she slept. Anxol and I sang playful tunes and were just silly little children around Donnie, trying anything to hear her musical, beautiful laugh. We all loved Donnie.

Donnie grew into a beautiful, sweet baby girl. We nurtured her and loved her; taught her and cared for her. We all took turns in playing the role that we were now known to her - mama, papa, bubba, and sissy. We all joined together as a family over Donnie's arrival, more evenings spent together and more days laughing.

It shouldn't have been a surprise, six months after she was born, that Donnie's first word was 'family'.

.

"Want to go to the Meadow, Enkol?" Jonah asked, just as the professor dismissed us.

I instinctively snapped my head to Anxol, who was gathering up her papers with a faint smile on her face.

Anxol's been a lot better recently. She's no longer crying at night, and responds quietly when other students talk to her. She doesn't say that the people are sad anymore, but I think that's just because we now both know why they're upset in the first place.

Anxol looks up from her papers, almost as if she sensed me looking at her. She quickly finishes gathering the sheets together and walks briskly to where Jonah and I were.

She takes one look at Jonah and I and says, "You can go to the Meadow, Enkol. There's no need to worry about me all the time."

I raise an eyebrow at her. We both knew that Anxol didn't like walking home by herself.

She raises an eyebrow back at me, our faces mirroring one another.

"I'm fine, Enkol. I'll just take care of Donnie." She gives me a small smile. "Go have fun with Jonah."

"Yeah, Enkol. You haven't been to the Meadow with us in while." Jonah grins. "You've missed out on a lot ever since Donnie was born."

Anxol nudges me gently, telling me accept Jonah's offer.

"I knew I liked you for a reason, Anxol." Jonah grins at Anxol, slinging an arm around her shoulder. She tense up for a millisecond, but a hesitant smile crosses her face soon after. "Telling your brother to have fun. Do you want to come too?"

Jonah sounds mildly hesitant, shy, almost, as he asks Anxol. She looks up at him and shakes her head slightly.

"I'm sorry. I can't. I have to go home and watch over Donnie." She answers. "But Enkol can most definitely, go, right, Enkol?"

I take a look at Anxol for the last time, and I can read clearly in her eyes the message she's trying to send to me.

Go have fun, Enkol. There's nothing to be worried about.

I've been worrying about Anxol in this world, with the Hunger Games and all. But she is safe from this brutal world, from the Capitol's grip. I still think I should watch over her, but in that moment, I realized that I needn't hover over her all the time. She is her own person, and is capable of taking care of herself.

But I will always be there when she needs me, and will always be there to look out for her.

"Alright, Jonah. To the Meadow!"

.

The Meadow was on the outskirts of District 5, on the side close to District 4. It seemed to be the only place in District 5 that had no traces of grey, and if you squinted your eyes enough, you might just see the ocean.

It was also where all the kids went to play.

It was the only obvious choice, of course, the place that was just as lively as our spirits. The place that wasn't grey and daunting, the one place where we were as close to freedom as it gets.

"C'mon, Enkol! There's been apples growing at this one tree, I have to show you! It's really amazing, they're so red; not like that gunk the Capitol sends us." Jonah chatters, dragging me to the small cluster of trees. "You can bring some home to Anxol."

Jonah and I rest underneath the large apple tree, lazing in the shade, munching on our apples. We watched the other kids play in the Meadow; chasing each other, playing small games, or just simply enjoying the beautiful day like we were.

"You know, Enkol, you and your sister aren't too bad." Jonah says lazily. "I thought you and your family were all monsters or animals when I first saw you."

"Thanks." I say dryly. "You're not too bad yourself."

"Strange, you know, a family showing up in the middle of the night in this tiny boat." Jonah admits, taking a large bite out of his apple. "Looking all snowy-white and all. Well, I haven't seen any snow in my life, but I imagine it looks a bit like you and your sister."

"You guys didn't seem too normal yourself." I shot back playfully. "All grey and colourless."

"Yeah, but we ain't got any visitors here in Panem." He throws the apple core to the grass. "Not ever. You're lucky we picked you up, and not District 4. You guys would've been toast if you landed there."

I sit up a little straighter. "How so?"

"District 4's part of the Career pack." Jonah replies, pointing to the vague outline of the ocean, or what we assumed was the ocean. "Loyal to the Capitol. Would've thought you guys were spies and bam! Sent to the Capitol. Executed."

I shudder slightly.

"Nah, but I'm glad I got to know you and your sister." Jonah twirls a piece of grass in his fingers. "You're nice. Don't walk away when I'm talking or anything."

"How could I, Jonah? You're the most interesting person here!" I grin.

"Thanks, man. I'm glad that I took you guys under my wing. You've still got a lot to learn about here." He grins back. "You're like a little brother to me or something. Curious. Eager."

We sit in a contented silence for a minute longer.

"What about Anxol?" I ask, wondering about other people's opinion about Anxol - if they thought she was crazy, or if she was just quiet. If she was in danger from any of them.

"She's different. Strong." Jonah says simply, brown curls shining in the weak sunlight. "She's going to change Panem one day, and I want to be around to see it."


Thanks for reading!

I just love writing Jonah. I don't know why. It's just so much fun!

But anyways, time for my usually super-long and completely unnecessary author's note.

I just realized that this sub-story will be a bit longer than I intended. Not by much, just by about 3 chapters or so. But it's still kind of bugging me how it's longer than the other sub-stories, so I thought I'd just let you know. I guess it makes up for the really short chapters in the beginning.

Any questions? Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Feel free to leave it as a review!

Next chapter up tomorrow!