Chapter 15: Back home
[April 2373 AD – POV Timotheus Mellark – District Twelve]
When I had met Rue again, in the hospital of Hillbonia, I had been called back to guide her to the specialist in Appacolia, Dr. Aurelius, and he had suggested that I take Rue home with me for the weekend, so that her mind and soul could rest. After losing the rest of her family in the mountains after the plane crash, her inner self was likely in turmoil, and she seemed to be very shy around other people, including doctors and nurses; the psychologist had suspected that this might be due to her being frequently mobbed because of her looks and special features. So far I seemed to be the only living person around here she was really comfortable with; for some reason, this young girl very much liked to be around me. We could only hope that any relatives of hers the police might be able to find would be acceptable for her.
Thus, after the thorough examination at Dr. Aurelius' practice, I had called home to announce her coming with me, and I had taken Rue into the tram towards my home in Appacolia, with was actually the Mellark family home, where I lived with my parents and sisters. Rex had not been with me for that, but he had his own area and doghouse in the big garden around the family house.
We arrived back home right in time for supper, and Mom had planned for our arrival. Of course, I had told my family about Rue's special looks and her shyness with people she did not know well, and Mom had done preparations accordingly. Our big dining table was extended to maximum length, and while my parents and sisters were close to one end, Rue and I were going to sit at the other one, so that we had more than two meters distance between the groups. None of my family tried to get too close to Rue when we sat down, and none of them stared at the girl either, but of course they had been prepared by me. Rue curiously looked at me when she noticed the arrangement; Mom saw that and quickly told Rue that she hoped that this was fine for her. The girl replied:
"Thank you very much for your kindness, Mrs. Mellark, and this is great. I am sorry to cause so much trouble, with my shyness and all."
"Nonsense, my dear" Mom replied. "Tim told all of us how he found you, and we understand your grief. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you need something specific or something can be improved with our behavior towards you."
While we ate, Ruth looked at Rue a lot as I saw, but she had a way of looking practically nobody considered offensive. When we were done with the main meal, my youngest sister stood up and slowly walked towards Rue. Once she was next to her, she said:
"Rue, I am Ruth, but my friends call me Ruthie. You probably do not have many friends here; do you want to be my friend?"
At first when Ruth had approached, Rue had started to squirm a little, and I was prepared to ask my sister to step back again. However, my baby sister did not show any sign of being repulsed by Rue's looks; she was her usual very charming self, showed a wide smile and radiated sympathy, and I saw Rue's facial expression changing from slight anxiety to something much softer; maybe there were even a few tears dropping on her cheeks. I wondered what just happened, but before I could ponder that any further, Rue replied with a very soft voice:
"I will gladly call you Ruthie, and I would love to be your friend. Thank you for offering!"
Ruth opened her arms, and Rue did not hesitate; she stood up, closed the distance fully and embraced my sister. That was not quite what I had expected, but I was very happy to see it. Ruth was really very good with people, and I had encountered very few others who managed to not succumb to her charms; obviously, Rue was not excluded from that, and that was good. It might have been some time since another child had voluntarily offered to be her friend, I assumed.
When Ruth and Rue were standing so close to each other, I could not avoid to see some resemblance. While Ruth was eight and Rue thirteen, they were almost exactly the same size, at about 125 cm. Rue was skinnier than Ruth, but not by very much. Both had medium long dark hair, hanging down to their shoulders, but while Ruthie's hair was dark brown and curled, Rue's was black and straight. While Ruth's skin was just tanned, Rue's skin was a few shades darker. Except for Rue's super long and pointed ears and her special eyes, they could indeed have been sisters, and when they looked at each other, one could have thought that they had been friends for years already. Primrose was much closer to Rue's age, but compared to the dark-skinned girl, Primrose was more than one head taller and had female curves already.
When dessert was served, Ruth picked her bowl and placed it next to Rue, and she moved her chair over, and for the rest of the meal they sat side by side; Rue's face was proof enough to see that she approved and actually liked it that way. Mom and Primrose still kept their distance, but the ice was broken, and my baby sister had managed to make Rue feel at home here, for now at least.
When Rue opened her mouth wide to get the last full spoon of desert in, Ruth looked at her closely and with obvious attention to said mouth, and Rue quickly closed her mouth and looked to the side, saying:
"I know, I should not open my mouth that wide and show my ugly long teeth."
"What? No, I admire your teeth! They are so totally cool!"
"Are you serious, Ruthie?"
My sister was indeed totally serious, and even Rue must have realized that by the way she looked. Now Ruth and Rue both opened their mouth wide and started to make faces at each other, and soon they both giggled. That was not a behavior Mom normally tolerated when we were eating, but with such a special guest she did not say anything. It was good to see that the strange girl from the hills and my baby sister got along splendidly.
Before getting up from the table, my mother brought up the topic of accommodations and mentioned that Rue probably did not want to sleep alone. When Ruth heard that, she chimed in right away:
"Oh, Rue can sleep in our room, can't she, sis?"
Primrose and Ruth shared a couple of rooms; rather than having one room each, they had opted to share one room for sleeping and another for homework and playing. Well, Primrose did not play with toys that much any longer at her age of 16, but Ruth had a large set of dolls and other toys. Despite their significant age difference, Primrose and Ruth were quite close, and when Prim was getting annoyed by the amount of homework and got frustrated by trying too hard to excel, Ruthie always managed to calm her down and distract her. On the other hand, Primrose was always willing to help Ruth with her homework and explain some topics again, when a teacher had failed to make Ruth understand at school.
The two sisters slept in opposite corners of a nice room; Ruth's bed had a pull out guest bed beneath it, and Rue was welcome to use it. Bedtime was not yet there, though, and before I had a chance to think about a proper pastime for our guest, Ruth asked:
"Rue, can you come and play with me, please?"
Rue smiled and nodded, and a few minutes later Rue was settled in the girls' room and playing happily with Ruth and her dolls, while Prim sat at her desk and did some homework. Rue looked almost happy when I looked at her, and I was quite glad that the family accepted her like they did.
When it was time for bed, I said 'Good Night' to all three girls and got a hug from all of them. For an hour or so I sat together with my parents in our big living room and we talked about Rue and her shyness. My mother admitted that she really liked the girl, and she asked if I knew anything about Rue's special features, like her eyes and ears and such. I had to admit that I did not, and even if a medical specialist might know, they might not be authorized to share this with me. Mom nodded, and eventually I went to bed as well.
My sleep was interrupted rudely by somebody shaking my shoulder, and I mumbled something about being sleepy, but then I heard Prim speaking:
"Tim, please come, Rue has a bad nightmare!"
That got me awake quite quickly, and I walked over to the girls' room with Primrose. Rue was sitting on her bed, crying and whimpering, and her limbs moved around wildly. She called out 'Mummy! Daddy!" as I had heard before, and once or twice I thought I also heard 'Katniss', in a much softer tone; did she know a Katniss? Maybe her sister? Ruth tried to comfort her, but was apparently unable to do so. I sat down next to Rue and wrapped my arms around her, and I talked to her, telling her that it was all right and I was here. To my surprise that actually worked and she calmed down; she wrapped her arms around me as well and refused to let me go.
Prim and Ruthie looked at me, and finally Primrose said:
"This is really something. How do you do that, big brother?"
"I have no idea. Dr. Aurelius claims that my saving her life when she had just lost her father and sister created some kind of bond between us, and maybe he actually knows what he is talking about."
"Maybe, indeed. I guess that you have to stay with us in our room here, Tim."
Well, she was right. Rue obviously had no intention to let me go, and I did not want to wake her up, so that I just placed myself on the bed with her, and we found a good position like we had had in the sleeping bag in my camp up in the mountains, with her on my chest; my sisters helped to get the comforter all around us. Primrose and Ruth smiled, and when we were all comfortable again, Prim switched off the light.
Fortunately, next day was Saturday, and none of us had to get up early for work or school. I slowly woke up from voices around me, and I heard people talking:
"Look, Mom, isn't that so cute?"
Soon I felt somebody pushing into my side and got a wet kiss on my cheek, and I when I looked, I could see the smiling face of my youngest sister, who had apparently moved from her own bed into mine. Wait a second, this was not my bed at all! I recalled last night's events, and when I finally was awake enough, I sure found Rue still on top of me and still asleep, while Ruth had cuddled up to me from the side. Mom was standing next to us and replied to Primrose:
"Yes, my dear, you are right, this is really cute. You did the right thing by waking up your brother during the night, I believe. Look how cozy the three of them look together!"
Were they making fun of me? It was one thing to have Rue that close to me when we had been at my camp in the mountains, all on our own and with nobody else around for many kilometers, but here at home and with my family? Looking at Rue, though, I understood my mother's statement. She looked totally at ease and comfortable, and she smiled like she was having a very nice dream. My face must have shown something like that as well, I guessed, just before I had become aware of the situation. In addition to that, Rue's arms were still or again wrapped around my neck, and my arms were around her back. How had I been able to sleep like that? Well, okay, normally I had a teddy bear in my arms, and I must have accepted Rue as a substitute.
When my mother noticed that I was awake, she asked:
"It's almost time for breakfast, Timotheus. Do you believe that Rue and you can join us?"
The little girl must have heard the magical word 'breakfast', as she started to move and mumbled:
"Breakfast? Sounds good, Mom; I will be up in a minute."
What? 'Mom'? Oh, she probably was still half asleep. My mother beamed and said:
"Oh, this is so sweet; she already calls me 'Mom'! Tim, do let me know if her grandparents, once they have been found, don't want her, and I will adopt her on the spot!"
Saturday morning breakfast was more relaxed than the dinner on the day before. Rue, Ruth and I sat at one end of the table, and my parents – Dad was home as well now – and Primrose sat at the other end. It also turned out that Rue was not very picky about food, and she enjoyed what we offered. After breakfast we realized that Rue did not have many clothes to wear. All she had was the ones in her single bag, and there was basically nothing to change into. We did not know how long it would take to find any of Rue's relatives, and so Mom offered to take her shopping, but Rue shook her head, explaining that there would likely be too many people around in the shops for her to feel comfortable, and she did not like to go out as people were likely to look at her too much. Ruth was the one who came up with a simple and feasible solution:
"Hey, no problem. Look at my clothes and tell me what you like, and I will go with Mom and get similar stuff for you. We are the same size, except for you being a little more skinny, so that I can try clothes on to see if they fit you."
That was actually a reasonable plan, and although Rue protested briefly, claiming that she did not have any money, Mom took Ruth for clothes shopping after Rue had browsed Ruth's closet for some time. They came back two hours later, with two big bags and two smaller ones, and Rue was settled for now. Fortunately it had turned out that Rue's and Ruth's preferences in clothes were quite similar. Primrose was a young lady who at least sometimes got herself something fashionable and paid attention to brands, whereas the two smaller girls just cared about easy fitting, being comfortable and liking the colors; both of them much preferred bright and lurid colors. Rue also made sure that all of her clothes had plenty of pockets; when she walked around and talked to people, she frequently collected notes about other people to meet, got small presents in shops or even from total strangers and collected all kind of stuff, and she needed big and many pockets for all of that. Thus, she frequently wore dungarees or cargo pants.
After Ruth had prodded Rue to change into some of her new clothes, I saw both girls – Ruth and Rue – proudly walking around in matching shirts pronouncing 'BFF' (best friends forever) in big bold letters. Both girls also wore new skirts, stockings, and shoes, and by now their hair style was also about the same, with a few colorful ribbons added from Ruth's supply.
We spent the rest of the weekend mostly relaxing at home, but on Saturday afternoon we went for a walk in the city park, with both girls wearing their new clothes with the 'BFF' shorts and matching skirts. I noticed that Rue kept her distance from other people, but she had insisted that Ruth came with us. Thus I had two small girls next to me, and each of them grabbed one of my hands. Rue wore a cap on her head covering her ears, and her special eyes were not discernible from a distance, so that at least none of her special features were apparent to other people. Both girls had fun playing on a playground for some time, although Rue always kept some distance to other kids. Ruth had already learned about that, and she even helped her new friend by steering her into sections which were less populated. Somehow one could assume that Ruth was the big sister and Rue the little one, quite opposite to the real ages. Just by watching the two girls they really looked like being of the same age; nobody would have guessed that Rue had about five years on Ruth. Technically, Rue was not even allowed on some playgrounds any longer, as most of them had an age limit of twelve, but I assumed that nobody would know any better. I felt real happy to see Rue getting along with my little sister that well.
When we walked along a small path, with both girls clinging to me and holding my hands tightly, an elderly lady looked at us, and I had a feeling that she tried to make up her mind if I was a big brother with his two little sisters or a very young father with his two daughters. Apparently she decided for the latter, as I got a patronizing look from her; while I tried to keep my distance, knowing that Rue did not like to get close to strangers, the lady came closer and kind of blocked our way, and she asked with a disapproving scowl:
"Aren't you a little young to have daughters of that age?"
Rue moved to the side away from the lady, and I could feel her hand trembling a little, but Ruth started to giggle; impersonating my daughter was fun for her, and I enjoyed the pretending as well. Normally I would have just smiled and walked on. However, the lady had intruded into our personal space and she looked like she insisted on an answer, although this was not really her business at all; thus, an answer she got:
"Oh no, those two young beauties are not my daughters, but my girlfriends, and I am just searching for a quiet place to make out with them, you know. Have a good day, ma'am!"
Somehow I had managed to keep a straight face while I said this, and now I quickly pulled the two giggling girls away. When we slowly turned around after a minute or so, the old lady was still standing where we had had our conversation; her mouth was open, and she looked like she had seen a ghost. I hurried along the path, knowing that it wouldn't be long until all three of us would burst out laughing, and we barely managed to turn around a corner when this happened.
"How did you come up with that, Tim?" Rue asked when she managed to interrupt her laughing for a few seconds.
"I don't know, really" I replied. "Normally I am everything but quick-witted, and I guess that this was the proverbial exception from the rule."
"Rather than making out, can we sit on a bench, and you rub our backs?" Ruth suggested.
I laughed again, and for the next ten or fifteen minutes we did as my sister had proposed. Neither of them was my girlfriend, but I really liked to be around them. Even in the years before I had spent a lot of time with Ruth, and some of my friends had pitied me for having to take care of my baby sister so frequently. I had always corrected them by saying that I did not have to, but wanted to spend time with her. Some of them failed to understand, but that did not change the fact that I indeed loved to spend time with my little sister. As I found out, spending time with Rue was almost as nice, and it was definitely not time wasted. What was it with me and the little girls?
Later on we visited some other parts of the park, including an area with nice flowers and a few water fountains. At this time of the year, spring flowers like tulips, late narcissi and primula dominated the flower beds, but some others, like peonies, were also getting ready, and some of the trees around still had white and pink blossoms. This was one of my favorite areas in the park, and we found a bench again to sit and enjoy the scenery; I could easily have stayed for hours just taking in the beauty of nature and the few additional elements mankind had provided, like the water fountains and some decorations.
My other sister Primrose came along with one of her friends when we were still on the bench; I had my arms wrapped around my two companions, and the two little girls had their heads resting at my shoulders, obviously enjoying to be that close to me and feeling the sun shining on their bodies. Primrose looked at us, shook her head, smiled, and said:
"That's my brother all right; big problems with big girls, but having the little girls flock to him – Timotheus and his girls."
During the next night, I was not getting called into the girls' bedroom, and on Sunday morning Ruth proudly told me that she had been able to calm down Rue on her own this time. The dark skinned girl confirmed that she had slept well, and I guess that this was a good sign. For breakfast, we again had two parties at different ends of the table, but Ruth was now sitting together with Rue and me, while my parents and Primrose were at the other end.
Sunday was rainy, and while my parents went to church, I stayed at home with Rue and my sisters. For most of the day we read some books, played a few games, or just talked. The little girl seemed to enjoy her time at the Mellark residence, and after we had eaten lunch, she started to ask questions again. Those question were not little girl questions, but mostly advanced and scientific ones, and despite my own education, I could not answer all of them; a few times I used my computer and had to search for proper information. This girl was for sure highly intelligent.
When bedtime approached on Sunday evening, the pull out bed was not used at all, but rather Rue and Ruth shared Ruth's bed, and the two girls both seemed to like it that way. Mom looked at me when she saw that, and I could see from her smile that she liked to see it. For now, Rue had found a new temporary home, including a place and people she was obviously comfortable with.
[Author's Notes: I imagine Ruth to look like Ruthie Camden in the TV series '7th Heaven', in the earlier seasons when she still has her curled hair, and if you compare her looks to Rue in the Hunger Games movie, they indeed seem to look alike a little bit at least.]