"The best of us can find happiness in misery."
Tobias Hannett, 16, Capitol Citzen.
I can't believe what I just saw.
Once in a while, life throws something at you that you're not prepared to handle. For me, this was the case. A few hours ago, I was searching throught the house, not looking for anything special when I found this. A black envelope, with my mother's name on it. Miraya Hannett. I would never know that a name so loved in the Capitol would turn into something so disgusting. My mother was a rebel, possibly working against my father, against our people.
And now, I was the one that held all of it in my hands. The options were simple. I could put this back where it belonged, and pretend that I never knew it existed. The other option, however, was an hard choice to make. I could tell my father and show him what my mother had been doing on her free time. Maybe, he wouldn't hurt her, right? After all, she was his wife and mother to his children and unlike my mother, I knew my father loved us more than anything in the world.
After he all, what he did for me was something that my mother never lifted a finger to do. A few months ago, on my sixteen birthday, my father bought me what I always wanted more than anything in the world. A night with her, a night with my Cashmere. I lift my head to look at the picture of the both of us that I have on my desk and a smile crosses my face.
She's so beautiful. Looking at those crystal blue eyes and golden curls, it makes me feel something that I had never experienced before I met her. Looking at her is like waking up from the life that I had lived since I was born into a better one. One that I know it's really, and one where I can appreciate the small but beautiful things in life. A sunset. The color of the moonlight on Cashmere's hair. Her scent, not the one of cheap perfume and liquor, but her real one. She smells of fresh-cut grash and cinnamon rolls.
Since I met her, my life became better than it ever was. I can't let my mother take away everything that I hold so dear. How could she? She plans on destroying our family from the inside out, from little Sierra to my father. All because of what? Because of people that she never met before, people that couldn't care less about her?
Where is the woman that taught me that family is all we got? That family should be put above everything else, no matter the cost. If my mother doesn't go manage to make her plan work, I can have a future in here. I can follow my father's footsteps to be the best Head Gamemaker that the Capitol has seen in decades, and I can ask Cashmere to marry me and come live with me in here, where she truly belongs. It doesn't matter that we only saw each other a few times, because once she realizes how much I love her, she'll grow to love me too. But if my mother does manage to make her plan come true, everything will be ruined.
I'll lose my father. My best friend, my inspiration to follow my dreams and go somewhere in life. When I was a little boy, he saw my drawings. They weren't much, just a little something that an eight year old could, but they had meaning. They were my ideas for the arenas that my father designed every year. It was one of the best moments in my life when my father said that I had talent. That I would go far and that he would be there to see it, and stand proudly by my side.
I still remember the proud smile on his face when he smiled and ruffled my hair. How could my mother ever think that man was a monster? The one that helped me with my homework every night, the one that spent nights and nights awake with little Sierra in order to let my mother sleep in peace. I don't know much about life , but in my opinion, a monster is someone that hurts people and my father never hurt anyone. In fact, he's one of the best people that I know.
I pick up the envelope once more, and take the pages out. The firsr part consists on profiles of the most important people on Panem, including my father and President Snow. The others have the Victors. Flicking throught the pages, I found her file. Cashmere De'Montfort, all bright and shiny like all of Panem knows her. Panem's Golden Girl is what they call her here in the Capitol. I couldn't agree more. I can say that I'm one of the few people that knows the real Cashmere and, hoping that I can have something of her with me if anything goes wrong, I separate the picture from the rest of the file and put her picture on my pocket.
Just in case. I can't help but glance at our family picture, hanging on my bedroom wall. It was a few months after Sierra was born, when everything was perfect. We looked so happy, the four of us, the perfect Hannett family. I should have realized that something was wrong. It is my duty, after all, since I'm the man in the house when my father is gone. I'm supposed to look after my little sister and my mother too, when that needs to happen. I should have realized that something was wrong when my mother started to refuse to watch the Hunger Games with us, prefering to watch them on her own.
A rebel. Under the Hannett family roof. I suppose we won't be able to leave the house for a while after everyone finds out what my mother has been doing.
Should I do it? Should I tell my father everything that has been happening under his roof, even if it meant that my own mother could go away for a while? I love her, I love her more than anything, but that is also why I'm doing this. She might go awy for a while, but she comes back, everything will be like it once was. She and my father will fall in love with each other again, and I can tell her how much I love Cash.
This is it. I take my phone from my pocket, and dial my father's number.
I'm so sorry, mother. I love you.
"Hey, dad? We need to talk. Do you have a minute?"
A/N: "I Don't Care" by Fall Out Boy.
A second prologue! Yeah, this is just to keep everyone informed on the Hannett family storyline and because a few people wanted to see what would happen to Miraya. Well, here it is! You'll see what happens in the next prologue, which will be posted one week from now and will have the tribute list and blog.
I want to thank everyone fo every single submission I got far, they are all absolutely brilliant, but I can't accept all of them. Sadly. I am pretty happy with the list I have so far, though, and I hope you all will too.
The tributes are bloody brilliant this year.
Okay, so keep submitting! There are still a few open spaces and who knows? ) Detailed forms have a bigger chance of getting in.
See you next week with the tribute list and blog!