I don't own The Hunger Games.
Districts 5, 7, 8 and 9 are pretty bad. I was the one that killed tributes from each of these Districts, and seeing how much pain their families are in makes me feel terrible. The only thing I see in their eyes when they look at me is pure hatred. However, when they are not looking at me all I can see is pain. My speeches are never good enough. I tell them how genuinely sorry I am and how much I wish their children didn't have to die, but it doesn't change anything. They are still gone forever, and I have survived instead. But as I visit each District and meet each pained family, I wish more and more that I hadn't.
The worst District to visit is District 2. I myself am more hurt when I make my speech than some of Michael's family. It turns out that he was an only child, but had a lot of cousins and both of his parents look like they haven't slept in days. One thing I notice is that his mother looks a bit like mine. I know that Gale had loved Katniss; maybe that's why he married this woman, because of her and Katniss' resemblance. Maybe he just loved her anyway. Melody's aunts and uncles shoot me a few glares, because they know how much we hated each other. But I wasn't the one that killed her, and they know that. They hate Straw more than they hate me. The stage had looked huge as I walked onto it to make my speech earlier.
"I don't really know what to say that will numb anyone's pain. Or mine. I guess I should start my saying that the Capitol says thank you, and keep up the good work. You all probably noticed that I didn't exactly get along with Melody." I had said to the crowd. "But I truly believe that she was a good person on the inside. And Michael…" By this point, tears had threatened to spill. "What is there I can say about him, other than 'I loved him' without babbling on for hours? He truly was an amazing person. I didn't know him for anywhere near as long as I had liked to, but that short amount of time was enough for me to realize just how much I wanted him to live through the Games even if it meant I had to die myself. I fell in love for the first and probably the last time. He saved my life…And I failed to save his." The tears start flowing, and I had had to run off of the stage before more tears could make their way down my face.
I am sat next my Mother, pretending to eat. Whenever she looks my way I pick up my fork and pretend to eat. In reality, I have not eaten a single thing. Katniss is not stupid, she knows I'm not eating but, like me, she pretends that I am. She talks to Gale throughout the whole feast, catching up on lost time. It is quite obvious to me that he is still in love with her.
"Lillia, can I have a word with you in the corridor please?" I turn around in my chair and see Michael's Mother, Evangeline Hawthorne, looking at me.
"Sure." I say, trying not to look confused. Surely I am the last person she wants to talk to right now. I follow her into the hallway, and she stops just outside the doors to the dining room.
"I just wanted to say thank you." She says and smiles weakly. I blink at her, puzzled.
"What for?"
"When Michael was fourteen he had a girlfriend, Hayley. They were together until he was four months away from turning sixteen. She was murdered, and something inside of him just snapped. He swore to me that he would never love another girl again, and started training for The Hunger Games. He never laughed, smiled or showed any kind of emotion." She explains. The news hits me like a ton of bricks. I feel horrible for him, and his deceased girlfriend.
"Oh. That's terrible." Why should thank me for this?
"I know. Anyway, he never had another girlfriend. Then he met you. Seeing him with you, and seeing the way he acted around you…It was the old him. The way he was before she died. The Michael that everybody loved, that was a friend to everyone and loved freely. He wasn't an empty, emotionless boy when he was around you. He was smiling and even laughing in his interview. So thank you, for bringing my son back. Even if it was only for a short amount of time." Evangeline says, and hugs me. When she steps back again I ask,
"If he started training when he was fifteen, why did he save me? Careers are trained to be merciless." I ask.
"He was never a true Career, his heat wasn't in it. And he was incredibly loyal. That's why he saved you. He couldn't watch another girl that he loved be murdered in front of him."
"Thank you for telling me this, Mrs Hawthorne. I never knew." I say. She smiles at me and nods once before we walk back into the dining hall.
Aww, poor Michael. :(