The city is a pearl, she decides. Its surface shines, but it's all built on a core of absolute filth. She can think of one difference: Annie doesn't hate pearls.
She has no desire to explore the Capitol. Finnick prods her, saying that if they are going to be here for ten days anyway, they might as well leave the old Training Center at least a few times. After all, he says, the memories held here are darker than anything else the sparkling city has to offer. He doesn't mention the hundreds of beds sprinkled across the city that haunt him, and she doesn't have the heart to let him know she notices their omission.
But by the third day, it's all too much. The walls press in on her, their gliding images of waves only reminding her of the home she misses. She spends most of her morning with her knees pressed to her chest, ignoring the pressure of her thighs against the ever-expanding bulge of her stomach, focusing on a tiny patch of malfunctioning lights in the moving mural and counting her breaths. It's all she can do to keep her mind from slipping down the slopes of the mountains and following a river all the way to the ocean, to home. A home she hasn't seen since the Reaping, yes, and a home that isn't where she became a wife, and there's every chance that it's not where she will become a mother, but neither District Thirteen nor the Capitol can ever replace it.
She should have gone swimming with Finnick when he offered, just as he has every morning, but he's gone now, and she isn't leaving this room by herself. It's stupid, she knows that, but Annie wants nothing from this city, and it has always wanted everything from her. Her sanity, her husband, what these people want, they take, and she will not go out among them alone.
She doesn't realize he's back until a warm hand strokes her cheek. "Love, you need to get out of this room. Having no fresh air for days can't be good for the baby."
Annie traps his hand with her own. "You're coming with me."
"If that's what you want, of course."
There is a park in the city's very center, he tells her, with a lake that's perfect for sailing on, and the trees there are almost tall enough to block out the view of the skyscrapers. She tries to be excited about the outing, she really does, but this city is filth, and not even its spot among the clouds can hide that.
Her palms sweat when they leave the uptown area that contains the train station, president's mansion, and Tribute Center. She's never been into this part of the city. Finnick glances down at their joined hands when her grip on him tightens. "It's all right, Annie. They get more normal the further out you go."
"The people?"
He nods. "And the really weird ones don't tend to go to the park, so I think we'll be fine."
It's one thing to think and quite another to know, but she allows him to lead her further from the Training Center. Already, the fresh air is doing her some good. She had altitude headaches when they first arrived and on her previous visits, but maybe her body is getting used to this place. That thought scares her more than it should.
They receive a smile here and there from the other pedestrians. Annie avoids eye contact with each and every one of them.
The lake does bring a smile to her lips. The water shimmers in the early afternoon sun, and dancing light reflects onto her face as Finnick rows the boat they have rented further and further away from shore. Out here, she can almost believe she's home. Birds sing above them, not gulls like they should be, but the beautiful songbirds the Capitol prefers. Annie tilts her head back and allows the sun to caress her face. Here, with just the two of them and the water, everything is as it should be.
Yes, the Capitol is a pearl. It has filth at its core, but one can still appreciate its beauty.