Katniss watched as the sun was slowly pushed down by the dark blue band of night. The first star was beginning to shine. Katniss picked up her first-born.
"Look up there Rue. Do you see it? That's a star. It's the soul of your auntie. She was a beautiful girl. She was called Prim. If she was here she would love you so much."
Katniss smiled sadly at Peeta, who was holding their newest baby, Cinna.
"Look up there." Peeta said, pointing at another star that joined the first in the sky. "That's the soul of Rue. She's the little girl whom you were named after. She could sing so purely that the birds stopped to listen." Rue squirmed in her mother's grip, not really understanding what her parents were saying.
"And up there," Peeta continued, pointing at another star, "Is the man you were named after little Cinna. He was an incredible talented man. And so kind." Peeta glanced at Katniss and saw tears running down her cheeks. "They may not be here today, but they died to make your world safer. We can never forget them, or what they did."
"We are here today to remember the lives of those who died to make this world the place it is today. Their lives may have not been heroic. They may have been preventable. But they happened. The birds keep singing, the Earth keeps revolving round the sun. The night doesn't stop and the sun still shines. And this is hard for us. When a loved one dies, our own world crashes down and when the rest of the world stays intact we are surprised. And today is the day we remember the one who made our world crash down. We remember their loves and passions, their traits and characteristics. We remember the little things that make us love them as much as we do. But we must also use this day to move on. Your world may clatter around you, but it's good that the world keeps going. Because they wouldn't have wanted the world to have stopped. They would have wanted us to use the pain to help others and make Panem a place that they should have died for." Katniss finished and looked up at the crowd. They were all dressed in black, and looked at her respectfully. Slowly, following the lead of one man at the front they took their three middle fingers to their lips and raised them to the air. Katniss could feel tears pricking the back of her eyes, and exited the stage. The last time a crowd had acted spontaneously like that, a man had been killed for rebellious behaviour. Katniss had to keep reminding herself that the Capitol weren't in charge. The war was over.
Theer, who looked much older and more tired than when she first met Katniss all those years ago, climbed up onto the stage.
"This memorial has been built for everyone who died under the hand of the Capitol. There is nothing more to say." And she left the stage quickly, keeping her head down. Katniss knew why; her twin daughters had been killed in the bombing of Snow Battle.
The crowd filtered slowly into the large memorial. It was a beautiful garden, with pretty flowers and benches and quiet fountains gushing in the background. Katniss had personally ensured there were lots of primroses to honour Prim and no roses, which reminded her too much of President Snow. There was a tree which you could tie a message to for someone who had died. Katniss wrote five; one to Prim and Rue and Cinna then one to Finnick and Madge. She saw Annie writing a long message and she knew it was for Finnick.
"Hey Katnip." Katniss spun round, hardly able to believe what she had just heard. But, standing right behind her, was Gale. He looked older; he had let a beard grow, and he was broader than before. Katniss smiled, and drank in the scene. She had dreamt of being reunited with her old hunting partner, but now it seemed anti-climatic.
Gale joined her in writing messages, writing one to Prim then two of his friends who had been killed in the war battle. It was so peaceful having his familiar presence next to her.
"Where have you been? What have you been doing?" Katniss couldn't help but ask.
"I've been part of a project to train people to hunt for their own food. For the last year I've been finishing off the building of Panem." Katniss nodded. Many of the buildings had been destroyed, and now the economy was more stable there was great plans for new houses. Suddenly a woman waddled up. Her long blond hair cascaded down a red dress, which bulged round her stomach.
"This is my wife, Christiana," Gale said, almost a little awkwardly. "We're expecting a baby soon."
Katniss grinned, pleased to find herself genuinely happy, and not even a little bit jealous of Gale. She bid him farewell with a promise to keep in touch and Gale and Christiana wandered off, and Katniss found herself face to face with her mother. Katniss forgot everything and hugged her, so tightly that she thought she could never let go. She missed her mother more than she could ever admit. They were the only people who really understood about Prim and her Father. Peeta tried to understand, but he hadn't known Prim as a sister and daughter. For a moment Katniss thought her mother was going to open up about her grief, now that they were reunited in a memorial garden, but instead she whispered quietly;
"I'm a grandmother."Katniss nodded, fighting back tears of joy.
"Come and meet your grandchildren." Katniss said, leading her mother over to where Peeta set with Cinna and Rue.
Katniss's mother picked Rue up gently. "Hello Rue, aren't you sweet. You look just like your mother. But you've got your Father's nose." She turned to Cinna. "And the spitting image of your Father! Your namesake would be so proud!"
They sat together, in the sunny garden, amongst the bright flowers, catching up on the last years that they had missed. It was only now that Katniss realised the hole her Mother had left in her heart when she went to District 4. Katniss couldn't remember when she had last been this happy.