"Mommy, why do they always talk about you in school? And Daddy, and Aunt Jo and pretty much everyone else?" she asks me. That question, along with how Finnick and I met, are the two things I'm terrified of telling my daughter. Maggie Elizabeth Odair, named after Mags and Effie, the nine year old with Finn's tanned skin and sea green eyes but my dark dark hair, is a curious one. They mention the rebellion in school, and slightly brush over the games. The topics are far too graphic for children. One day, I'll tell her the whole truth.
Our son, Marcus Peter Odair, named after Finnick's and my grandfather, is still clueless. He's only five, and all he knows is that his parents have bad, bad dreams. He has my olive skin and gray eyes, but Finn's golden-copper hair. The teachers treat them like children of celebrities, which is partly what I feared. But the fact that they will never dread their twelfth birthday, or buy Reaping Day clothing makes up for that in more ways than imaginable.
Everyone else has settled down too - Gloss and Annie have little baby Cashmere, Haymitch and Jo are married but childless (which is good for both them and any children they could have), Adrienne and Thomas have a girl the same age as Maggie named Dahlia, after Finnick's baby half-sister. Gale and Madge moved to District 2, but they visit from time to time. Prim and Rory are still here, and they've been married for three years. It still makes me uncomfortable - she'll always be my kid sister. But she's twenty-seven now, and I have to let her grow up. I really try.
Some days are harder than others. There's been mornings where I jump out of bed and I'm eager to enjoy the beautiful day. Others, even the idea of being alive is unwanted. My nightmares are usually tolerable, but some nights they're so graphic and they hit home hard, that I worry that they're real. But, I'm making in through, one day at a time.
Haymitch, I did it. I stayed alive.