A/N: A small moment of reflection and thought. Pondering how to say what is on her heart and whether it will make any difference, but sometimes things have to be said, regardless of the outcome. Sorry it's a short one.

Update 3/12/13: Reformatted the text, inserted more line breaks for easier reading

What has to be said

I decided not to return to the village immediately.

Part of it was the opportunity to be in my woods for a while longer before the tour and the other part was to reflect. I didn't watch to see where Gale had gone, but took a long winding route around the forest to the one place that offered solace for my soul.

When I reached the lakes edge, I perched myself on a rock formation and just stared at the calm surface of the water.

I allowed my tears to flow freely at the thought of burning a bridge with Gale, but silently prayed that he would see how much his friendship meant to the both of us and that we could grow back to that point someday.

I then began to dwell on the threats Snow had issued to me yesterday.

I was instantly worried like I had never been before, for my family's safety and for Gale's safety. I wasn't' sure how to process this fear. Two weeks ago, I would have been impossibly beside myself worried about how I was going to pull of the girl in love routine. But now that didn't seem like such a hard task.

I could do what Cinna told me I did best – just be myself.

My heart warmed to the idea that being me included having a fondness for Peeta that went beyond friendship. Just for a moment I allowed myself to bask in the sun's rays and feel a small light of hope in my soul.

That moment didn't last very long as I was consumed by another wave of fear, a fear that I was pulling Peeta into a much more dangerous situation.

Somehow I felt like he wouldn't be so determined to see me safe if he thought I didn't care about him. But revealing my true feelings for him now would only deepen his resolve to protect me.

Of course all of this was dependent on whether he even really cared.

As the afternoon turned toward evening, I began the trek back toward my home. I started to think of the things I would say to Peeta, how I would try to show this new thought process, these new feelings. Growing closer in the distance, I could see the outline of my house and I let my thoughts drift to what this day had held.

I had decided before I set out on this journey today to face Gale and spill out my heart regardless of what the result was with Peeta.

I had to be sure I wasn't leading Gale on. I had to be true to my heart and establish those boundaries.

Now, with that behind me, my mind was able to completely focus on the fear of a life without Peeta's affection and warmth. Is this what it was like to fall in love with someone? Is that what was happening to me? How much easier would it have been if I could have processed these thoughts on the way home from the games?

Would Snow have even felt the need to come all the way out to the end of the world in district 12 to give me a pep talk of sorts? Better yet, how much easier would it have been to just swallow those berries in the arena?

My thoughts were quickly interrupted by his presence.

Standing in the lane between the houses…was the boy with the bread.