Chapter Twenty Five
The wind is no longer a cold unrelenting feeling. The cold no longer cause my bones to ache. The time of winter is coming to an end, and I believe that even the District knows that our hardships are coming to an end. Looking up, I can see the sunlight coming through the grey clouds and reminded on how even the sun is coming to welcome us back.
The houses look quiet from the outside but in the glimpses of the windows that the blinds are open you can see the people running around. The ending of winter is something that we celebrate here in District Twelve, well not officially, but every year it is almost as if by something deep inside of each of us. People celebrate because no one died in the winter time of injuries or even of hunger.
The road is no longer filled with the dirt snow combination that was there the last time that we were here. Now the road is more dirt and less snow. Some people are already walking on the road and looking up to the trees, to try and see the first birds. I doubt that they would be out this early, but people still get up early to try to be the first. The neighborhoods have grown into these small communities. Ever since the bombing, which many of the people that are here hardly even remember, the rebuilding has been almost like a tree growing into a forest. It takes time and goes through the different seasons the different trials and tribulations that we all face as well.
The memories though of the old District Twelve still echo, the houses that use to be there, that are now replaced by newer homes with different families. I wonder the people that survived the bombings; did they ever come back to the District? Or were the memories too much that they left to other areas of Panem, or probably they stayed in District Thirteen, to be taken care of. We thought of that once ourselves, but being underneath the ground was something that neither one of us could withstand. I couldn't go back to District Thirteen because it reminds me of the Detention Center and for Katniss because it reminds her of her father and the coal mines.
The end of the houses causes both a hesitation and jubilation from Katniss and her mother. The meadow is to our right and I can see the small park where the old tree that my father would show me as a kid. The small hole that is hidden by the bushes is just ahead of us and finally moving over the bush Katniss helps her mother out the hole in the fence. Once we are outside in the forest, it seems that the tightness in my chest has gone away.
In the forest surrounding District Twelve, we find the freedom that all of us were searching. I can still remember the days that I would spend just staring out into the forest. I always thought that the colors of the forest were much more alive when it was free. Even today, I still feel that way, the air is crisper and it is like Katniss comes alive. Looking over to Katniss's mother, I see the same thing, almost like she realizes where she is.
We walk quickly to the nearby hollow tree and finally find a second set of bow and arrows that we had hidden. Our primary bows gone in the edge of District Twelve coast line. We both notch an arrow and then finally Katniss takes point while I cover the rear. It is better this way, seeing how we would have to go at the pace that Katniss goes. The pregnancy has taken a toll on Katniss though, as I realize how much slower she walks. Before it was amazing how fast she would zip through the trees, almost like it was the wind running through.
We now have to stop every fifteen minutes and it is okay because it allows us to process all that we have to go through tomorrow. My main concern now is to get to the house and finally allow ourselves to be happy for a split second.
It does take us an hour of slowly walking in order to finally make it to the fence. There are no signs again of anyone coming or going. The snow is light and hard to the touch. The door finally opens and as we walk in, Katniss's mother looks in wonder of all that she sees.
"Welcome to our home," says Katniss to her mother.
The door clicks and finally Katniss looks at me.
"Finally," I say to her. "We are home."
Walking around the lake, it looks so peaceful there. The small little house looks so much like a dream. It seems like it is untouched by the world of Panem. It exists in our happiness, and in our dreams.
We make it to the porch and finally through the door. I walk over to the fireplace and grab the matches on the mantel. The wood that we had wrapped in the plastic is now allowed to keep dry. The warmth in the house is something that Katniss's mother just smiles at.
Finally she sits on the sofa and tells us to sit down.
"Okay," she says. "Now that we are here, let me ask you something."
Katniss looks at me and then at her mother.
"Your father brought you here?" she asks.
Katniss nods.
"Your dad, brought me here when we were dating," she says smiling. "It was a lot smaller though this house."
"Are you serious?" Katniss asks.
"It was only a few times, and I was shaking like a leaf," she says. "It was illegal you know coming out here. He didn't care; he wanted to show me something beautiful."
The very thought of a young couple coming out here to spend time in the lake makes me smile. This place means more to the Everdeen family than I had thought.
"It was the place that I knew," she says. "That I would love your father forever."
She wipes away the couple of tears that has already fallen.
"Thank you for bringing me here," she says.
"You are always welcomed here," I say.
She smiles and tells me that she feels at home as well. We finally get settled in and I can see that everything, life goes back to our definition of normalcy. It is all about staying in our own world, away from what is going on outside our own fence.
The day goes slowly and we find ourselves just laughing and telling stories of life before everything. Katniss's mother asks us about our own experiences here in this house. She laughs at the story of the second bench and of course tells me not to make a crib for the baby.
That night we sleep soundly. It is the first time in a couple of weeks that we have been able to sleep without nightmares, without anxiety. It seems that we even forgot what is happening tomorrow. Although the though does wake me up in the early morning. Sitting at the table grabbing a pen and paper, I just start to write to my little daughter, thoughts, and lullabies.
It is then that I am reminded of a promise I made yesterday. Quickly grabbing a pan and some flour, I start the oven and make some cheese buns for Katniss. Cracking a couple of eggs and shredding some cheddar, I make some omelets for breakfast and can hear the rustling behind me.
Turning around I see her there looking at me. Her eyes are sweet and her smile is almost as captivating as the first day I saw it. She stands there in an old t-shirt wrapped in the comforter that her mom gave us for our wedding present.
"Hey you know I was looking for that one," I say.
"This old thing?" she says smiling. "Didn't think you would mind."
"Of course I don't," I say. "What are you doing up?"
She smiles and does the sniffing motion.
"Oh you smelled the cheese buns," I ask.
She nods and covers herself more closely with the comforter almost as if she is a little chilly. I place a cheese bun on a plate and hand it to her. She smiles and sticks out her hand to grab the plate. Placing the plate on the table she sits down and takes a bite.
"Hmm, still warm," she says.
I place a plate of eggs, and a cup of hot coco. She smiles and tells me that I am the only one that understands her. Sitting next to her, I can see that the thoughts of today has already begun to weigh on her mind.
"Feeling better?" I ask.
"Honestly," she says. "I just want it to be over."
Holding onto her hand I know what she means. It is something that we had both been trying to avoid. Soon in a couple of hours we would have to be in the Justice Building there to be welcomed back into a place, back into the arms of the Capitol, that we wish would forget us.
"Soon," I say. "But we have to get you ready though."
She smiles.
"You mean I can't go like this?" she says showing off the t-shirt with the holes in it.
"Hmmm," I say. "I don't know."
"I think she looks beautiful," we both hear coming from the living room. As we turn we see Katniss's mother with a long large coat.
"As long as she has this on," she says handing it to her.
She removes the comforter and slips on the coat. The coat is very fashionable for its time and although I cannot put my finger on it, it does do something else.
"See now you don't have to worry," says Katniss's mother. "This coat makes extra passengers disappear."
Katniss walks over to the mirror and see that the coat and the way it was made, does achieve the illusion.
"Come," she says to Katniss. "Let's get you ready."
They walk away to the nursery where Katniss's mother slept last night. After a couple of minutes I seeWe get ready and finally as we are getting ready to leave the front door, we see that Katniss's mother is not coming.
"I will wait for you two back here," she says.
"You sure," asks Katniss.
"Yes," she says looking over to me. "Now you bring them both back here right after."
She smile and we embrace. It is the same thing that she says to me every time we have to go out. The door opens and makes a long creaky sound. It seems like the winter months has given enough moisture to the door to cause it to let out its groans.
With bows in hand we make our way east towards an uncharted area of the woods that we hardly go through. No doubt that it would have been easier to go through the Seam and then through the Square, but a couple years ago we found another entry way through the back of the Square. It is a little bit more dangerous as we have to walk alongside the tracks and well the trains do not stop if you are crossing.
We stop a couple of times to let Katniss catch her breath. The vibrations of the train allow us to safely pass near the trains and finally make it to the hole in the fence near the Square. There are many people and we can hear the crowds in the Square as they all gather near the Justice Building.
Walking quickly towards the rear of the Justice Building, we are approached by Peacemakers.
"Stop right there, you are in a restricted area," one peacemaker says.
Removing the hood and glasses, they both look at us.
"We are the reason why there are here," says Katniss.
They ask us very nicely to come with them to verify. Although I am sure that if we do anything out of character the restraints that I see on their belts will be our new jewelry.
They escort us through the doors and finally into the lobby of the Justice building where they are many people waiting. In the distance I can hear someone speaking on an amplified microphone. There are people running around and it seems they are looking for someone. As we walk by, you can see some of the people stop and start to whisper, others give us a thumbs up.
"Excuse us," one of the peacekeepers says. "We found these two outside; they say that they are the reason why we are here."
The man at the front of the door finally turns around and there in a blue suit that just screams Capitol, stands Plutarch Heavensbee.
"Please do you not watch television or have you been under a roc for the last twenty years?" he says with a smile. "Do you not know who these two are?"
They look at us with a sort of shock look.
"These are my two stars," he says approaching us. Something about this angers me to a point where I feel my hands ball up into a fist.
"No," Katniss whispers in my ear. "You have to remain calm."
The head gamemaker comes over like we are family, like we are friends, he holds us in his arm. The whole time all I can think of is I wish I had a knife to stab him in the ribs. This is the man who created it all, everything from the botch escape from the arena, to having a hand in the death of Prim. He has always denied it, and the investigation yielded no evidence that he was involved but something about him that I had never liked.
He could be the reason, the person who fabricated all these lies about the Fundamentalists that caused us to chase them down. I wouldn't put it pass him, and I would never trust him. I can feel my heart beat quicken and even feel my breathing shallow. The beeping begins and Katniss has to remove him from us.
"So sorry," she says. "Peeta never did like embraces. After the whole Detention Center."
"Oh he still isn't over that?" he says with a humor in his voice.
"Over it?" I say with a stern voice. "Over it?"
Katniss holds my hand.
"No," she says to Plutarch. "But we are making progress."
She turns around to me.
"Please just a little bit longer," she says.
"Okay," I say.
Taking a couple of deep breathes finally I can feel my heart beat lessen and my breathing deepen.
"So Peeta," he starts. "Are you ready?"
I don't respond and just walk towards the door and finally push the doors open. The sunlight just hits us like a bright light and all I can hear is the crowd beginning to cheer.