Katniss's POV
"Taste this one, Kat! It's delicious!" Peeta said, handing me the platter. I took one, without saying anything.
"Katniss?"
"Yes, Peeta?"
"You... You alright? Or, are you still wondering about the mystery Cinna is not disclosing to us?" Peeta asked.
I didn't reply. The train of thoughts wasn't stopping. I was asking myself many questions.
What happened to Cinna after he was beaten by the peacemakers? When I saw him last, he was beaten by them- they definitely weren't fond of him. We all assumed he must have died, since there was blood everywhere. So, if he didn't die, where was he when the rebellion was going on? Was he with the Capitol? If he was, when the Capitol fell, what happened to him? What was he doing to sustain himself all this while? And, how did he befriend Paylor? What was he doing until now to lead life, and, why did he come to us now? Why was he suddenly reminded of us? What is actually going on?
"Katniss! Please! Tell me! What's going on in your mind?"
"I am just worried about the children, Peeta!" I lied.
I didn't want Peeta to think I was actually scared. Because, I believe Cinna poses a great threat to all of us. Where was he all this while? Is he here because all of us have met? Is he here to harm us? Something the government wants him to do? It's true that we all love Cinna, but, the connection was cut. He had no need to come and meet us. Life at the Capitol must have been awesome- why come back to 12? What did he need? What was it that we had and he didn't?
And... Why was I so lame? Why didn't I get these questions when he came home? The fact that relief washed over me when I first saw him is making me feel stupid. Why aren't the others realising the fact that Cinna's here since he wants something from us? Why aren't the others realising that Cinna could as well endanger our lives? This is a really serious issue!
Gods... Something is seriously wrong with our brains.
Peeta inched closer to me and embraced me in a tight hug.
"Didn't we already talk about this? They are brave!" He whispered in my ear. I felt so calm and all of my worries and tensions and the numerous questions nagging at me vanished. There's something really soothing about Peeta.
"No, Peeta! I think we need to have a conversation with them. They need to know it from us. For all we know, the government could have manipulated. Maybe the children think it's cool to participate in the Games."
He released himself from me.
Haymitch's words were ringing in my ears, "You could live a hundred lives and still not deserve that boy". I tried to push that thought away. Love is something that you don't deserve. It just happens and there is no logic to explain it.
"Not they. Only Prim knows. Finnick doesn't know."
"Poor Prim. She must have felt very weird and nervous when she got to know about it. She must have been furious." I blurted.
"Or, she must have felt bad. She must've promised to herself to see to it that life functioned normally ; she didn't want to make us feel guilty for not telling her our past. She wanted us to lead life as if nothing really happened. She wanted us to suffer less. She wants us to forget that the Games happened. She is a blessing in disguise."
My ears were ringing and it was quite confusing for me to continue the conversation with Peeta about the children and think about Cinna at the same time. But, what Peeta said made sense. Prim helped us a lot. By not telling us that she knows about our past, she made life less painful. I felt so proud of her. I wanted to hug her and plant some thousands of kisses on her forehead for being so mature.
"Peeta, I think it's my fault. I was like a zombie all these years... I was never lavish in affection and never spent much time with the children. I never bothered to sit with them and talk to them about random things. I never found out about what they were learning in school. I never even had a casual conversation with Prim. God only knows how many boyfriends she had had until now."
"Do you even think any boy would look at her!?" Peeta said, winking at me.
I tried not to laugh. But, it made sense. Prim reminds me of myself when I was of her age minus the need to sustain her family. She is as hostile as I was.
"Well... Any random boy wouldn't. But, THE boy... Definitely would. Like, you know, maybe there's a junior Peeta somewhere out there, desperately seeking for this junior Katniss's companionship?"
Peeta blushed and I could sense butterflies fluttering by, in my stomach.
Just then, we heard a knock at the door. Peeta stood up and opened it, only to find Finnick throw himself upon his father.
"Whats it Finnick, dear?" I softly asked him.
"We are going out! Zeke just now came to Prim's room to tell us that we are going out! Can we go to the beach?" Finnick said.
Peeta glanced at me and I shrugged ; I wasn't aware of any plan of going out. But, if going out meant observing each and every movement of Cinna without his knowledge, then, why not? Besides, I think going out would be fun.
"Yes, we can go to the beach. But, promise me you will apply oil all over your body."
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"Some even pun that there's more of water and less of land in District 4" Max said, as I was trying my level best not to get overwhelmed by the beauty of this area. "There is a general notion that every house owns a boat or a yacht. Apparently, cars and bikes cost really less in our district since you hardly use them!" He continued.
Suzanne gripped his hands really tight and began to laugh, or rather, howl very loudly. Max looked at her, and flushed a deep, rich red. 'Star crossed lovers' I thought to myself and smiled.
"Nice one!" Peeta said, flanked by Prim and Finnick on either side.
We were all walking on the shore of the beach; The shadows made by the people - MY people danced on the muddy, brown sand very faintly.
The setting of the sun gave the sky a very orange color. Traces of purple were here and there, as if the sky was embedded with tiny, precious purple gemstones. It looked as if the sun wanted to just take a small dip in the water, and the sea refused to entertain the sun.
"Beautiful, aint it?" I heard a voice behind me, and, for once, I realised it was the voice of Cinna.
I instantly froze. This was the first time I encountered him after it dawned upon me that Cinna could mean danger.
"Y-yeah" I stammered.
"You alright?" He asked me. I lifted my eyes, to look at a Cinna who looked very confident. He looked very kind- no, he looked liked the 'calm before the storm'. Or, is my mind conjuring up things that do not really exist?
Peeta, the kids, Max and Su were way ahead of me. I tried my level best not to let the anger welling up inside me show on my face.
"Of course. This.. The beauty of the beach is overwhelming! It was more than I could take" I managed. I swung my arms in the air, to emphasise on the 'I-am-way-too-amazed' look, but, I stopped, since I realised it was not my style to be that expressive. I can't afford to feed the suspicions that would take birth in Cinna's highly alert and perceptive mind. I need to buy myself some time to devise a plan or two to save my family from the unknown danger Cinna poses.
Gods! Never did I think Cinna would mean danger! Whats happening to me? Will the twists never end in my life?
"Yes. That's something we can't deny!" He replied.
He continued to jog forward and I followed him up.
"I missed you so much Cinna! You don't know how glad I am with your presence!" I lied.
"I know, Girl on Fire." He smiled.
"I really missed you. Where were you all this while?" I said, trying to match his pace.
He didn't reply for a while. He just continued to jog.
"Cinna?" I called him. He still didn't reply.
Why wasn't he replying? Whats wrong with him?
It wasn't making sense at all. Why isn't he answering me? I didn't ask him such an ambiguous question after all ; I just asked him where he was until now. Whats happening?
"Mrs. Mellark! Mrs. Mellark!" I heard a voice behind me.
I turned towards Cinna, who, now, flashed a really wide grin at me.
"So.. Mrs. Mellark! Why don't you answer that boy? You can certainly interview me later! Take care and see you later!" Cinna said, and stormed off.
Okay... That was completely unexpected. Can someone please explain why he is acting so strange?
"Mrs. Mellark!" The boy, Zeke, breathed, now standing beside me.
I didn't reply; I was just looking at the boy for disrupting the conversation between me and Cinna. Okay, I was glaring daggers at him.
"What?" I said.
He didn't reply. He just hung his head low and I felt really bad for being so rude. Maybe I should act a bit more friendly towards people. Especially children.
"What, dear?" I amended, trying to fill my voice with gentleness and tender care.
"Not helping, ma'am!" He replied and I couldn't help but smile. He still didn't raise his head, though.
I turned my gaze towards the water, and I could see Peeta and the kids staring at me. Especially Prim. The poor girl's eyes were filled with a sort of a plea.
Strange!
My encounter with Cinna had my mind completely dazed, I didn't even have the strength to comprehend stuff. Why am I imagining things?
"Okay. Sorry! Whats up?" I said, again.
He looked up at me, and smiled. He looked so cute when he smiled.
"I just wanted to apologize."
"Apologise? For what?"
"For, you know, telling y'all so heartlessly that they teach us about you."
I didn't know how to reply. I didn't utter anything after that.
He was looking into my eyes, probably searching for the 'It's okay, kiddo' from me. But, I myself really didn't know whether it was okay!
"Ma'am! I am really sorry!" He repeated his apology.
"You don't have to apologise! There's nothing wrong in what you did!" I said, now staring at my feet.
"Really? Wow! Great! Thanks!" He yelled out, too excited. I just stood there, not sure what to say next. When will I learn to deal with awkward moments?
"Can I ask you something, ma'am?" He said.
"Sure." I said, not trying to show my irritation. Can't he just rush to the water and have fun already?
"Ummm... Is it a habit for the women of your family to act really hostile with strangers? I mean.. A smile would do, right? It could as well be the marking of the beginning of a new era of Friendship!"
With that, he rushed towards the water, to enjoy.
I didn't know how to reply. I realised that the look of plea in Prim's eyes wasnt something I imagined. She probably wanted me to hold a really long conversation with that boy so that she wouldn't have to spend time with him!
And, maybe, if I really wanted to do it, I could spend some time on the question posed by this naughty boy and give him a really funny reply by the time we leave to 12.
But, I have other things on my 'to-do-list'.
Cinna. And the grave secret he does not wish to part with.