The world is made of sunshine.

I am warm, bathing in a bright yellow light. The ground moulds to my body, radiating heat onto my skin. My toes scrunch up and bury down deep into the cooling wetness under the sand. In the distance the waves roll in, they sound like wind whipping through a laundry line.

The world is made of sunshine.

I am on a pristine beach, like the ones we saw in our textbooks when we read about district 4. The water is a brilliant turquoise, an unblemished gem, rolling in on white, foaming waves and then out again. The sun fills me with warmth but never gets too hot.

The world around me is at peace.

My family is there with me; mum and dad farther up the hill under a purple umbrella, Gauge and Nia down in the water together. They all look so happy, mum waves at me and dad gives me a wink.

I hear a child giggle and see Caird twirling Ramie and Lech around near the water. They each let out peals of laughter and hold on tight as he spins them around and around. Crin is beside them, building a giant sand castle. She's singing loudly to herself.

I twist my head around further to see Kilim and Zanella, standing side by side in the sand. They wave and gesture for me to stand up and join them. I try but my feet are rooted into the sand, cemented thoroughly no matter how I twist and pull.

"Hold on!" I yell as they share a laugh and keep grinning at. I'm stuck, my feet won't budge.

I look out onto the turquoise ocean to find that it's turned a turbulent dark blue. The sky is a foreboding purple; a cold wind whips past me. I look around at my family and friends but they don't seem to notice the sudden turn in the weather. They stay where they are, still engaging in whatever carefree activity they were engaged in. Gauge picks Nia up by the waist, smiling wildly at her. My parents smile and shake their heads at their children. Caird spins the boys around, their screeching never ceasing. Crin's song gets louder as she continues to build up her castle. Zanella and Kilim still urged me to join them. I look out at the sea and find the tide swelling, giant waves crash violently against the beach. One as big as our building swoops up in front of me, gobbling up the sky and casting a sinister shadow across our paradise. I scream at them all to run but they don't hear me, they're oblivious.

The wave crashes, taking everything with it. Still rooted in the sand I feel it whip around me, pulling me every which way and battering rocks and branches against my exposed body. I can't breathe, it sucks the air from my lungs and I struggle to catch in them. I scream but nothing comes out.

The wave recedes revealing the beautiful beach once again but bare of anyone except for me. I swivel, feet still trapped in the sand but everyone is gone, swept out to sea. The sun tries to warm me again and the sand tries to hug my body but nothing is right anymore. My lungs still won't work. Terrified, I let out one last silent scream at the deadly sea.

I wake up.

Slowly, I come to terms that it was just a nightmare. I raise myself up onto my elbows and find I'm in the giant Capitol bed. The covers are warm, not like the patched blankets we've got at home. I consider diving back into them but the nightmare's shaken me up too much.

With fresh eyes, I take in the room. The walls are the same pale yellow as butter but they seem closer to white under the sunlight that streams in through the window. The ground looks like the inky sky from a moonless night's been poured onto it. The world outside the window is buzzing and full of excitement, I can faintly hear it through the thick glass.

The door swings open and nearly smashes into the wall. Villard. His green hair is somehow sticking nearly straight up into the air and he's wearing a sparkly orange suit jacket, furthering his carrot like appearance. "You're not up yet?" he screeches at me from the door way. "Up! Now! You've got to shower before we get you down to prepare for the chariot rides!"

He slams the door behind and I sigh. Of all the escorts in Panem I got stuck with the craziest. I inch over to the edge of the bed and step onto the carpet, padding my way across the floor towards the two large doors. I press a button on the lighted keypad and one slides open, revealing a brightly lit bathroom ten times bigger than our bathroom back home. Every surface shines as if it's never been used. My face reflects back from a thousand tiny surfaces.

I shed my clothes and pile them neatly in the center of the room then step onto the cold tiles of the shower.

The wall lights up beside me, revealing a host of buttons to choose from. I press one with a light blue raindrop on it and am pelted with freezing water. I jump back, slipping on the wet tile. "Ow! Stupid shower!"

I regain my footing and hit the button again, stopping the chilling water from spilling over me. Teeth chattering, I search the row of buttons for one that won't freeze me. Why does the Capitol need to have all these choices? Back home you turn the tap and hope that water comes out at all!

This time, I go with a pink raindrop and blissfully warm, perfumed water comes out. I sneeze a little and wrinkle my nose but it feels good to refresh my skin. My muscles relax one by one under the steamy water and the last of the tension from the dream melts away.

So totally sorry for the long update time... But now back to your regularly schedualed fan fiction.