Chapter 13: Picking up Rue

[April 2373 AD – POV Timotheus Mellark – District Twelve]

After a long walk with Rex, a night at the inn and another visit to Rue on the next day, learning that her night had been a little bit better, I got on the train home and arrived at my family's large house in the city of Appacolia in the afternoon. I had called them in the morning and told them that I'd come, and my parents and siblings were happy to see me again. As I attended university in the same city, I had not bothered to move out from home, and our house was more than large enough. The chain of bakeries my family owned was earning quite some money, and we were probably one of the richest families in the city and, as a matter of fact, in the entire district. In addition, while I did not agree with my parents on everything, we got along well enough so that staying under one roof was not an issue at all. We had our occasional disagreements, but overall we were fine. My brother Peeta, though, had moved out about a year ago, and he now lived in a large apartment directly in the bakery's headquarter building at the border of the city, on the top floor. He shared the large apartment with Uncle Peter, the other baking genius in the family and co-owner of the bakery; he was unmarried and unattached. Peeta though was engaged, and Uncle Peter did not have a problem at all seeing my brother's lovely fiancee there from time to time. By living in the apartment they could supervise the baking activities at any time, if they wanted, and I knew that Peeta՚s fiancée sometimes stayed for the night, too.

During and after dinner I told my parents and my siblings what had happened during the last few days, and the narration took more than one hour. They asked some questions, and they all felt sorry for Rue with me. Specifically my youngest sisters, Ruth, was touched by the events, and she had a few tears in her eyes when she listened to me:

"Can you imagine, losing your father and only sibling in an accident? That must be terrible!"

"Of course it is, Ruth" I replied.

"But how come she accepted you, a total stranger?"

"The doctor assumes that I was just the right person at the right place and the right time."

"Hm, I bet that there is more."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, but we will find out, sooner or later."

My youngest sister sometimes had one of those hunches, and more often than not the predictions turned out to be correct, with time. Ruth was only eight years old, and she was sometimes very emotional. She was doing okay at school, with about average grades, and she had many friends. Actually, it appeared that not only did she knew almost everybody at school, but almost everybody, across all grades and including staff, knew her, too.

Primrose, my other sister, had recently had her 16th birthday. She had ambitions to become a medical doctor later on, and while she was a very nice person, she focused a lot on studying and keeping her position as one of the top three students in class. She knew that top grades would help a lot to get into Capitol University later on, and this was her goal. Like Primrose Everdeen, one of our ancestors, she seemed to have a gift for healing and medicine, and she had already been working with the junior paramedics for a few years.

For the next few days I intended to go on one or two smaller trips, but right after breakfast one day later I received a call from the hospital in Hillbonia; I had left my parents' number there. The doctor I had talked to told me that he wanted to get Rue transferred to my city, to be examined by Dr. Aurelius. He had talked to his friend and received word and heard that he would love to have a closer look at Rue.

"However, there is a complication" I was told via the phone. "When we talk to Rue about moving her, she becomes furious and starts to cry; she claims that you will not be able to find her again, and whatever we tell her does not change her attitude and mood. We can of course sedate her again, but we should not really do that frequently; that would not be good for her health."

"So, what can I do to help?"

"I am glad that you ask. Look, I know that's a lot to expect, but could you come and pick her up? I believe that it would be even best if just both of you traveled together and delivered her to my friend; I will of course write some papers to go with her. You seem to be the only person we have found so far she is really okay with."

"I see" I responded. As a matter of fact, I did have other plans, but nothing urgent, and somehow the needs of the little girl I had met seemed more important than anything else to me. Thus, I decided to accommodate the good doctor and responded: "All right, I can do this. I will take the next train and be with you around noon time, I guess."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Mellark. You don't know how much help this is going to be."

Once I had informed my parents, I walked to the central railway station and took the next train back to Hillbonia. As I had claimed, I was at the hospital around noon, just before they were going to serve lunch. Rue was very happy to see me again, and she jumped onto my lap immediately. I asked her if she wanted to stay for lunch, offering the alternate option to have lunch with me somewhere in the city, and she opted for the latter. Obviously, the young girl wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as she could, and this was just fine for me, too. The local doctor handed over a small folder with a copy of his findings so far and some details on how to find Dr. Aurelius, and we were dismissed. Rue had her bag with her few personal belongings with her, and we soon located a restaurant in a neighborhood where we had lunch. We had found a table with no other customers being close, and Rue looked much happier now, compared to her anxious expression I had seen in the hospital just before she had noticed my coming. She wore a cap covering her ears, and her special eyes were only visible from up close, so that she did not attract unwanted attention for now.

While we were eating, Rue suddenly looked at me and said:

"I just remember that I do not have any money with me!"

"That's all right, Rue; I will pay for the two of us."

"But, isn't this too much to expect? Do you want me to work it off later?"

I smiled at her and asked: "Just out of curiosity, what kind of work would you be willing to offer?"

Apparently she had not thought this through, as she did not have an answer for me.

I told her: "Nobody expects a school girl to work something off. And don't worry about that; I am not poor, and I can afford to pay for you."

When we were in the train later on, I asked her about relatives. She told me:

"Yes, there are my grandparents, of course, as I told the police, too. I spent a lot of time with them when I was a small kid, and they have a farm somewhere, not close to my home, but far away. A few times I spent almost all of my summer holidays there, and it was great. In the last few years, though, I have not see them much any longer, and I do not really know where they live, but I think that it is somewhere in this district. My parents always brought me, and I am not good with locations and maps and such. My father also has a sister, Aunt Elisabeth, but she moved to Europe as far as I know. I have not seen her recently, but she has always claimed that she does not want children."

In late afternoon we arrived in Appacolia again, and I took the local tram to the hospital together with Rue. The girl enjoyed the ride, as I did, too. The planers of the city had made the main streets wide enough so that there was a wider center lane with grass, bushes and trees, and the dual track tram line right between. Thus, when one rode in the tram, one could almost feel like riding through a park rather than the district's capital city. We also enjoyed seeing that people around us did not look stressed and in a hurry, at least for the most part. That was different from the way people had behaved in huge cities prior to the Great War, I had been taught, and I was happy to live today and not a few centuries earlier.

Thanks to the detailed description we had received, we were able to find the proper building and office without trouble, once we had left the tram at the closest station, and a secretary asked us for our names and destination. As soon as I had told her, she smiled and replied:

"Ah, yes, Dr. Aurelius has been expecting you. He is busy right now, but will be available in ten minutes or so. Why don't you have a seat while you wait."

She pointed in a corner with a few seats, and as soon as I had found a chair to sit on Rue climbed on my lap, and a few seconds later she was asleep; that did not surprise me at all, as she had not slept much in the night before, as I had been told by the doctor in Hillbonia. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her. It actually took more like twenty minutes of waiting, but eventually an older male doctor came in and introduced himself as Dr. Aurelius. He smiled when he noticed Rue sleeping on my lap, and we managed to relocate into this office without waking the girl. While Rue continued to nap, I told him the entire story from my point of view again and handed over the documents from the doctor in Hillbonia.

When he read the papers, he asked:

"So, prior to the plane crash, you never saw that girl before?"

"No."

"And when she slept with you in the sleeping bag, there were no nightmares?"

"Well, at least no real bad ones. She moaned and squirmed a little bit during the first night, but calmed down quickly when she felt my arms around her and heard some soothing words from me. I assume and hope that the words were soothing, at least. Look, I know that I am not really supposed to have a girl in the same sleeping bag together with me, but we were in the mountains, and I needed to keep her warm."

He raised his hands and replied: "Nobody claims that this was wrong; please calm down."

He pondered the situation a little further and mused: "It is a little bit strange that she feels so much attached to you, but on the other hand there was nobody else. Most likely you just were the right person at the right place at the right time."

"That what's I believe as well, and the doctor in Hillbonia agrees. My youngest sister, though, insists that there is more behind it."

"She does? How old is your sister?"

"She is eight, but has an uncanny sense for social issues."

"Wait, is this Ruthie Mellark?"

"Yes, sure, that's her. You know her?"

"Well, I have not yet met her, but I had heard much about her. The school principal has told me several times, and she seems to be special indeed."

"Yes, she sure is. That does not explain, though, why Rue accepted me right away like she did."

"No, it does not, and I fully agree that there almost certainly is more behind it. Now, my colleague in Hillbonia alerted to me to your coming, and I have contacted a few colleagues of mine in hospitals in District Eleven. One of them called me back, and they have a record for Rue, as she has been treated there for some time. I am not authorized to share all of her medical history with you, of course, but I need to mention that she has been known to be very shy around people, probably because she has been mobbed too many times due to her looks and special features. The way many people had treated her during the past years has probably triggered that shyness and her need for social distancing, from most people at least."

I must have looked very concerned, and the good doctor hastened to continue:

"There is no reason to be worried about that. She is not retarded or so, at least not psychically. On the contrary, she seems to be very smart, much more intelligent than most other kids her age. Haven't you noticed that?"

I nodded and agreed: "Yes, indeed, when we talked about technical or scientific issues, I felt like talking to a 16 year old at least. Her body though..."

"The state of her body is something I cannot discuss with you, as you are not a relative. Getting back to her mind, she is indeed quite smart, but also very shy and socially, let's say, unskilled."

"But that applies to me as well!" I objected. "I can talk nicely with kids, but sometimes I say stupid things to adults and do not even realize it. And I do not like to talk to people I do not know."

Dr. Aurelius smiled and said: "I understand, but does talking to people you do not know just make you feel uneasy or does it also make your body react strangely, like sweating, accelerated heartbeat, anxiety attacks, or something like that?"

"I guess it's just uneasiness."

He nodded and told me: "For her, it is probably a little more than that, and I am quite surprised that she accepted you as she did up there. As my colleague said before, you were most likely the right person at the right placed at the right time, and I assume that her subconscious accepted you as emotional replacement for the father she had just lost. This, of course, causes a problem for us."

Rue was still asleep on my lap, and I asked back:

"Which is?"

At this moment Rue squirmed a little and slowly woke up. She realized that we were in a different room and with another person, but the fact that she was still safely on my lap seemed to comfort her. Dr. Aurelius introduced himself and asked a few questions, and then he asked me to leave the room for some time.

When I got back half an hour later, Rue was asked to sit outside, and I got told:

"When Rue was with me and without you, she was much more nervous, and the more time passed, the more uncomfortable she seemed to be. I claim to be quite good with children in general, and usually I can make them feel relaxed with me. Not so with Rue, and considering the traumatic experience she went through just a few days ago I am not surprised. Look, I fully expect her to start sobbing and having bad nightmares when I keep her here in the hospital. Her body does not require constant treatment any longer, but her soul does, and her soul has claimed you to comfort and treat her, at least for now."

"What does this imply, and what can we do for her?"

"There is one obvious option, and it depends on you if this is feasible or not."

I looked at him and failed to understand, and I told him so:

"Can you please explain? I am not really good in mind reading."

"You don't see it, right?"

"No, I do not, but I am not normally a very social person. Usually I much rather talk about technical topics and nature than about people. Believe me, my sisters frequently have a lot of fun with me when I once again fail to understand specific human relation issues."

Dr. Aurelius laughed briefly and apologized: "Sorry, I am not trying to make fun of you. But I understand; different people have different gifts. Getting back to Rue – the obvious solution is to have her stay with you for the time being, at least for the next few days, until the police have found her grandparents."

My face must have reflected my surprise, and the good doctor smiled and asked:

"You do not like the idea?"

I gasped: "No, it's not that; this was just a little sudden. I mean, I still live with my parents, but we have a big house and a couple of guest rooms. So technically it would be feasible, I would have to ask, but I guess that it should not be a problem."

"Mr. Mellark, a guest room may not work."

"What do you mean?"

"Rue has probably just lost the last of her close relatives, and normally we'd keep her in for a few weeks to make sure that she is fine. But, as she's so shy and cannot stand close contact with most people, this is tricky, and she needs to have somebody around her all of the time, somebody she can tolerate, specifically when she has nightmares again."

"Well, I do have two younger sisters, and I imagine that they'd offer to take her in."

"That sounds good, but you will need to make sure that Rue is comfortable with your sisters; remember the social autism – she will not make friends with others easily, and her body forces her to keep a distance. Other children, though, might actually work better. Nevertheless, do not be surprised if Rue needs you from time to time, and you may have to hug her and keep her close at times, like you did up in the mountains."

"But … that was because I only had the one sleeping bag, and I needed to prevent her body from freezing to death!"

"True, but by doing that you not only prevented her body from freezing, but also her soul. Up there in the mountains she had just lost all of the remaining close family, and she desperately needed comfort, and you have provided that quite nicely, as it appears. So, her body can sleep in another bed and stay warm, but her soul cannot, or at least that is what it looks like. Look, I know that this sounds like an odd request, but can you please honestly tell if the thought to share your bed with Rue again, maybe for quite a few days to come, is a horrible idea?"

"No, not at all" I replied quickly. "Actually, the time I spent sleeping with her was quite comfortable for me, too, and I even slept better than usual. If that's really what she needs, I think that I'll be happy to oblige. I mean, I have had my baby sister Ruthie in my bed quite a few times, and that should not be much different, I guess."

Dr. Aurelius nodded and confirmed: "That's the right attitude, young man. And believe, this is not what I normally recommend, but your presence seems to be critically important for her well being. Of course, we will also have to see how she will get along with your family. What do you think?"

After thinking about his words briefly I caved in: "All right, I will take her home with me. I have a few more days off anyway, so that I can afford to spend time with Rue. Shall we visit you again next week?"

He nodded and said: "Yes, please. Today is Friday, and maybe you can spend the weekend with the poor girl and see me again on Monday early afternoon. Next week we might have a better idea about the status of any other relatives, too."

I took my leave, picked up Rue, and I told her that she was supposed to go to my place together with me. She apparently not only liked, but loved that idea, and she held my hand for almost the entire time; about half an hour later we arrived at home. Dad was not home yet, but my mother was, and fortunately she liked Rue right from the start. I had called ahead to let her know of our coming, and I had explicitly mentioned Rue's shyness and her special looks and features again. Mom did not see any issues with Rue staying with us for a few days, when she learned that this was the girl I had rescued from the plane crash, and I assumed that her motherly instincts would be in charge.

[Author's Notes: I hope that the constant switching of main protagonists and POV isn't too confusing, and I'd much appreciate to get a review or two, if this isn't too much to expect – thank you!]