Sinterguth in Panem

by DrWandel

Timotheus Sinterguth, from a very rich and influential family, establishes a residence and non-profit research site in Panem's District 12. While working on green energy, ecological farming and such, he meets Seam residents and also a very special girl called Rue; her situation calls for his attention and will change his life later on. [AU] STORY IS ABANDONED

11. Chapter 11 - Fall holiday week

Chapter 11: Fall holiday week

Meanwhile, Rue's parents and Prim's mother had appreciated the idea to have their daughters visit Wiress together with me, and we set up the following Wednesday for that. Wednesday seemed to be a good day as school was out early and visiting hours were open for the whole afternoon. As a matter of fact, as Prim was one of the very few friends Rue had, I had suggested that Rue might want to come to my place on a regular basis on Wednesday afternoons together with Prim. The girls would do their homework together at my house, get some food, and either my housekeeper or I would drive both of them home in the evening. The Madisons were initially somewhat reluctant to impose on me like that, but I had been able to convince them by insisting that this was not a problem for me at all and that I was actually going to enjoy those visits. I really found myself looking forward to Wednesdays, and while I did not really dare to mention this to many people, I preferred the girls' company to most adults.

Anyway, Wednesday this week was here now, and I picked up Prim and Rue from their school. The two of them were chatting happily, and soon were were on our way towards the city hospital. Traffic was quite dense today, and we took somewhat longer than usual. Just a few hundred meters from the hospital parking area a group of pedestrians started to cross the road from the other side, apparently without looking for traffic. The car coming from the other direction, which was quite close, tried to change direction in order to avoid hitting them, but the distance was too tight and the driver lost control, skidding over to my side of the road. I barely had time to register the danger and step on the brakes when the other car hit my car head on – fortunately at low city speed – and immediately all airbags went off. I was getting dizzy from the crash and may have been out for a few seconds, but soon I found out that I was basically uninjured, probably except for some bruises and such – thanks to the sturdy design of my Jeep and the extensive safety equipment. Passers-by were approaching our two cars and asking if we needed help, and I told them that I did not know yet, but it would be good to call police and ambulance, which I was told they had already done. My next concern was to check how my two girls were doing; it turned out that they were also not injured much, but in shock. Fortunately, as we were almost at the hospital, the first ambulance arrived within less than two minutes, and they first looked at the occupants of the other car, which was a normal sedan and probably less sturdily built than mine. A second ambulance arrived and the paramedics looked at the two girls.

When a police car arrived, police officers questioned the witnesses, and fortunately some of them had seen the reckless pedestrians who had started to cross the road without looking and thus had caused the accident. A group of men had prevented them from leaving, and the police officers were now fully in charge, so that I had time to look how the girls were doing. A paramedic ran a quick check on me just to find out that I was all right, and he told me that the girls were mostly suffering from shock, and they'd run some tests at the hospital. Naturally, I told them that I would be around later on; first I needed to wait for my replacement car from the dealer.

An hour later or so I was told at the hospital that Prim and Rue only needed a few hours of rest and could be released after that time; I suggested to move them into a room together with Wiress, and I tagged along. Naturally, Wiress was quite confused to see us like this, but quite soon the three girls started bonding and chatting again. Seeing that they were all right I went to the reception desk to ask about the two occupants of the other car; naturally they could not tell me details, but I learned that they were a couple from district 4, and that they'd have to stay for some time due to their injuries. I asked to be informed when I could visit them, but would have to wait a few days, maybe a week or so – next Wednesday might work.

When I returned to the girls' room, I learned that Wiress needed to stay at the hospital for an extended period of time. She shrugged and said: "Well, you know, it's not so bad in here. The nurses are all very nice, much nicer than the adults in the orphanage where I used to stay. My illness is not life threatening, and eventually they will get me fully well again. Going back to the orphanage is not something I am looking forward to at all, also because of the other kids teasing me all of the time."

Rue hugged her and replied: "Oh, I so wish that you could stay with me and my parents when you get out of here. I miss an older sister, and I really like you."

While I listened to the conversation, I started to get an idea. Eventually I wanted the Madisons to work for me anyway to start looking at orchards and such, and a site with a few houses dedicated to people working for me was already under construction on the site. The place where the Madisons were currently staying was barely adequate, and due to their long work hours they sure would not be willing and able to take care of another kid. However, if I offered them jobs with limited work hours plus housing on my site, maybe Rue could talk their parents into adopting Wiress? Maybe I should first talk to our Major to find out what the rules for adoption were, too. I also was not really sure if I should meddle with other people's life like this and would need to think about it. Perhaps I should talk it over with my grandfather next time I went to visit him; I could always rely on his judgment.

Anyway, eventually the doctors released us and we could start our drive home with the substitute Jeep my dealer had offered, while my own Jeep was in for repairs.

A few days later Prim came for another visit, and she looked like she wanted to talk to me about something specific. After we had some tea together she started: "Tim, with all of the green energy stuff you are doing here, how does this work with driving big SUV like cars? Isn't this something which is not quite that good for the environment at all?"

I smiled and started to explain: "Prim, sure you would not expect me to not have thought about that? Naturally, all of the cars I own are electrical or hybrid cars. My favorite Jeep, for instance, is electrically driven with a small combustion engine as range extender, so that the battery does not have to be extremely large. My family's company also works on battery technology and strives to make battery manufacturing cheaper and less of an impact on the environment. In addition, the electrical energy I use, at least when charging at home, is generated from my plant's solar cells and wind turbines, so 100% green."

Prim looked relieved and responded: "Yes, I had noticed that your Jeep is awfully quiet, but I am not much of a technology expert and had not drawn the conclusion. This is good to hear."

Thinking about something else I addressed the young blonde girl: "Prim, I have thought about both Rue's family and Wiress. For Wiress, I would really like to get her introduced to my site here and get her to move to district 11; her talent is totally wasted where she is. Ideally, we could find a family to adopt her. For the Madison family, I want to get them moved here, too, both for personal reasons and for getting their expertise on orchards and such. I am going to offer both adults a job, and I hope that they will take it. The first group of employee houses on site is ready now, and they can take one if they want. Can you help to talk to them about that?"

Prim promised to do that, and she spent an hour or so to get started with her homework.

A couple of days later Prim stopped by again with a message from Rue's parents. Apparently, Rue's sleeping trouble and her nightmares had become worse again, and they wondered if I'd be willing to spend some time with them and their daughter. "Rue really looks very sleepy and tired at school", Prim added. "I am sure that she has not slept well for weeks at least, and we need to do something!"

I smiled seeing her concern and enthusiasm and replied: "And you are sure that I can really help?"

Prim looked at me: "Are you kidding? She is always so relaxed when she spends time with you!"

I nodded and asked: "Isn't week after next off at school?"

Prim confirmed: "Yes, week after next is school fall vacation time, indeed."

Thinking about that I suggested: "What about I invite the entire Madison family and you here and we spend the week together. This will also be an opportunity for me to ask Rue's parents if they'd be willing to move to district 11 and accept my job offer. What do you think?"

The blonde girl was excited and nodded: "Yes, Tim, please let's do this – this sounds great!"

This being discussed and decided, I immediately wrote the letters to the Madisons and to Prim's mother, for Prim to deliver.

Meanwhile, Katniss had her first forest report prepared and delivered, and I sat down in my office to read it. She had obviously been quite busy over the last weeks. Not only had she started to investigate into the animals in the forest, she had also made note on wood to harvest based on broken and damaged trees and such. Wood was important for firewood in the winter, and one of my goals was to provide some of that to the Seam residents, who relied on it for heating their houses.

We made sure that plenty of firewood was stored and would be available for sale, at low prices for residents. As kind of a compensation for the very low price, those who wanted to get larger quantities were supposed to help with cutting the wood to smaller pieces and with the transporting from the border of the forest to the individual homes.

The fall season was of course also very busy on the farms. Harvesting was done on some fields, and ploughing on others. My farmers also started to prepare some fields for winter and checked the feeding areas for birds, where required.

Also, I had been at the hospital a couple of times to find out how the two injured people from district 4 were doing, those who were involved in the car accident. Their names were Finnick and Annie, and they were engaged. I learned that they'd have to stay at the hospital for a couple of more weeks, and they would not be fit for work until some time in January most likely. As I also learned that they were not happy at the place they currently were, I asked what they were doing, and they both replied that were good swimmers and knew a lot about fishing and other water stuff. This triggered an idea in me, and I mentioned:

"Look, this is probably not relevant at all, but I am very active in green energy, and one of my per projects is a hydro storage plant. I have purchased the grounds around an old exhausted coal mine, and while I intend to use this as a lower level reservoir, I am thinking about creating a large artificial lake close to it as upper level reservoir. I have not thought much about the details, but I was hoping that it might be possible to use the new lake also for recreational purpose, like swimming and fishing. Eventually I will need somebody to plan and supervise those activities. If you'd want to consider that, why don't you give me a call later on?"

They agreed that they would think about it and I left my business card with them.

At the beginning of the fall holiday week, I had Mr. and Mrs. Madison and their daughter picked up from their home. They had gladly agreed to spend a week here, and Prim was also coming. Indian summer was in full swing, and the trees covering most hill slopes showed themselves in beautiful colors. Normally I used this time of the year to go for a couple of extended hikes, starting early in the morning and returning just at dusk. I was kind of hoping that my guests might share the appreciation for the beauty of mother nature. I also could imagine Katniss joining us, as she was quite a nature person, too.

As soon as my guests arrived, they were first shown to their rooms, and then we had lunch together. After lunch, when sitting on my large porch and enjoying the sunshine and the scenery, I brought up a few of my plans:

"You may have noticed the nice tree coloring outside. While I can imagine that you may not always be able to take some time off during that time of the year, you may realize that going for a hike is quite enjoyable during those weeks. I understand that you, Mr. Madison, may not be willing to go for larger hikes due to your bad leg, but maybe the rest of us could go for a couple of hikes, and you could spend some time with Mr. and Mrs. Brown, my farmers? I have to admit, though, that I have a hidden agenda here. I had mentioned before that I eventually plan to set up an orchard on my grounds at some time, and, if possible, I'd like to start preparations at least before winter. As I need some knowledgeable experts, I hereby offer a job both for you and your wife, and housing will be included. I imagine that life here might be a little easier than in your district, and I promise that your work will not be exploited."

Mr. and Mrs. Madison looked at each other, and soon Mr. Madison replied: "I will gladly spend a few days with your farmers to learn more about that, and I will probably take you up on the offer. We do have another reason for that, too..." - he looked at his wife to continue.

Mrs. Madison looked at him and then at her daughter and, after apparently thinking about the proper words, elaborated: "Mr. Sinterguth, you know that our daughter's health is not very good, and specifically you have been informed about her nightmares. In the last weeks the nightmares have been getting worse, and we are running out of options."

Indeed Rue looked very tired, and although her skin color did not really show that, kind of pale and exhausted.

Rues' mother continued: "We have observed earlier in the year, as you know quite well, that Rue has so far not had a nightmare when she was together with you. When she had spent some time in your company, she not only slept better, but also looked happier and healthier, potentially related to the better sleeping. We were kind of hoping that, if we moved here, the two of you could spend more time together, if that's not imposing too much."

I could not avoid smiling and answered: "Actually, this was a second reason for the job offer I am making. I care a lot for you and your daughter, and I would enjoy spending more time with Rue. This is not imposing at all, as it is going to be beneficial for both sides. To be honest, dealing with adults all day long can be kind of tiring, although, being an engineer, I like to talk technical details and facts. Spending some time with somebody Rue's age is really refreshing and nice. I would not mind at all to have her at my side frequently."

While Prim smiled and looked very happy and smug, Mr. Madison commented on that: "Well, I have to admit that you reacted almost exactly like Prim predicted. We were hesitating to put those points forward, but Prim assured us that this would be okay and you would happily agree."

"Yes, indeed" I said. "Prim has been another example of keeping me company during the last few months, and I have very much enjoyed that. Children do have a very special place in the Bible, too, and although I do not have own kids yet, being together with them is something I do enjoy."

I further added: "I do have another point on the agenda Prim probably does not know about. We all have met Wiress at the hospital, and she is an orphan. When I talked to her, I was surprised to learn about her level of technical understanding. However, at the orphanage and her school this gift is not appreciated as far as I know, and she feels like this is more of a burden for her. I would love to get her here and have her work part time in my labs, both to increase her knowledge and to take advantage of it. I imagine working on the topics here, like green energy and everything related, would be fun for her. Of course, as she is still a minor, this is not so easy. And now I am afraid that I might impose on you. Wiress seemed to have few friends, but she got along quite well with Rue, I believe."

Rue cut in here: "Oh yes, I do miss her a lot, and during my time at the hospital she grew to be a very good friend of mine. I too wish that she could be here with me."

"You see", I continued while smiling, "having Wiress here would be good for her, for Rue, and for me. We only need to find foster parents for her, and I wonder if could consider doing that? I do not know if the orphanage would agree, but if they did, it would be really good. Naturally, I'd make sure that the housing you get is big enough, and your salary will be good enough to cover all additional expenses, for sure. Let me emphasize that my job offer is of course independent from your potential willingness to adopt Wiress; there's no blackmail hidden here!"

Mrs. Madison almost had tears in her eyes now, and Mr. Madison explained: "We are both touched by your kind words, and your behavior proves that you are a kind and generous person. We certainly will need a few days to ponder all of that, but I am confident that we shall be able to provide an answer to your questions before our week here is over."

Right for the next day, as the weather was still beautiful with no rain in the forecast, we – that is Mrs. Madison and her daughter, Prim, and myself – were going for a nature hike, while Mr. Madison would be guided towards the farmhouse by my housekeeper; I had already introduced him to my farmers on the day before.

We packed lunch in two backpacks and started to walk along a road towards the mountains. The area did not have many marked hiking trails at all, but there were a few, and I had picked a round trip which would keep us busy for almost a full day and would allow us to mostly walk in or along the forest, including a couple of nice vista points.

While we were walking I mentioned to Prim to remind me to talk to Katniss to think about more hiking trails. While this certainly was not a priority, it would be nice.

After walking mostly through the forest, stopping for a few minutes occasionally to enjoy the beautiful fall colors, eventually we reached the summit of a small hill which provided a nice view around. A few smaller bright white clouds interrupted the blue sky, and the sunshine had warmed the air and ground sufficiently to allow us to have a picnic. We laid out a large blanket on the ground and arranged what we had brought with us in the backpacks, and soon all of us were busy chewing. After lunch, the warm sunshine invited to stay for some time, and I relaxed, stretched myself, and tentatively closed my eyes for a little time. Using my backpack as pillow, the soft and warm grass was nice to be on, and I felt quite comfortable. Soon something moved at my side, and when I opened my eyes partially I noticed Rue getting close; apparently she was going to have a nap and wanted to have it close to me. I opened my arm for her and she cuddled up to me. Looking over to her mother I saw Mrs. Madison smiling and nodding, giving her silent approval, so that I closed my eyes again.

I must have nodded off for a few minutes, when I woke from some odd girlish noises or so. Looking up I saw Prim standing by, smiling at Rue in my arm and giggling. Rue was still asleep, but Prim said that we might want to head back. More clouds had appeared, and some of them to the west were getting darker, indicating a weather change. We woke up Rue, packed our belongings, and headed down the hill on another trail.

Prim and Rue were jumping ahead, and Mrs. Madison talked to me while we were walking: "You know, Mr. Sinterguth, it is really kind of incredible how much Rue enjoys being close to you. Normally I should be somewhat cautious seeing her getting that close to a male adult, but I cannot avoid to see how good this is for her. My husband and I both love her, but we seem to be unable to help her sleep without bad dreams, whereas you can. Sometimes I feel a little jealous because of you because of that, but I guess it happens that children bond more with a nanny or such than with the own parents."

I laughed at her last words: "Strange nanny I am!"

"Seriously", Mrs. Madison continued, "you two really have something special. Rue does not have many friends at all. She is sometimes mobbed at school due to her dark skin color and her shyness, and she does not easily gain friends at all. For the last few years, Prim has been the only person one could consider a friend of hers. In addition, as you know, she has been plagued by nightmares on a regular basis since that tragic car accident, and if she now finds some comfort in and with you, I am happy for her. There's just one issue I need to mention: Please do not take advantage of her or hurt her!"

I looked at her and confirmed: "Thank you for trusting me in that, and I assure that hurting her is not on my list of things to do. We both know that there are situations in life where one cannot avoid hurting another person, but I really care for your daughter, and I will give my best to make her life a little easier. If spending time with me and being close to me makes her more happy and drives away her bad dreams, this is perfectly fine for me and I will be both honored and pleased to provide that service. Actually, as I probably mentioned before, spending time with her makes me happy as well. Although I do not fully understand why that is, I do enjoy the opportunity to spend time with Rue and be close to her, both physically and mentally."

Rather than responding Mrs. Madison just took my hand and pressed it firmly, and we silently continued our hike until getting back to my house safely before the rain started.