The Hob is dark and much more crowded than the rest of town. I enter the large abandoned warehouse on the edge of town and weave past the familiar faces, trying to drown out the vendors' voices calling out their latest deals. I've come here plenty of times with Papa or mom to trade game, and even a few times on my own if they're both busy or I'm looking for some kind of birthday present for one of them.
I scour all of the stalls, looking for something within my budget that Dani would like. There's so many knick knacks but none of them are right. I'm just about to give up when a small stall in the corner of the Hob, hidden away from the rest. An older lady is sitting in the chair, pliers in her hand, bending metal to make a bracelet. I approach the stall, my eyes glued on a small silver charm bracelet, with a little duck. I trace the small charm, delicately, feeling the light weight of it in my palm.
"Like the bracelet?" The woman asks. She startles me and the jewelry falls out of my hand, back onto the table. I snap my head up to look at the old woman smiling at me with kind eyes. The small amount of light from the window bounces off her gray hair almost making it look like it glows.
"I was looking for something for my sister," I tell her, looking back down at the bracelet.
"Dandelion."
"You know Dani?"
The woman nods. "I see her with your mother sometimes. Katniss and Elon have been coming here for years. Not as long as I have though," she winks. My eyes widen as she mentions my mom and Papa.
"Oh," I pick up the bracelet again. "That's what we call Dani. Little duck," I rub my thumb over the charm again.
She takes it from me, holding it up to the light. "And what do they call you?"
I hesitate for a moment. Nobody outside of my mom and dad know about my own nickname. "Little songbird."
There's a glint in her eye as she reaches under her table searching for something. She brings the bracelet down past where I can see, fiddling with her pliers. I try to get a peek at what she's doing but the tablecloth is covering her hands. I'm about to ask her about it when she brings the bracelet back up, another charm added onto it.
"Is that-"
"A Mockingjay," she confirms. "Capital's mistake, don'tcha know."
I did know, very well. Papa always points out the mockingjays when we go hunting. The jabberjays were created by the Capitol to spy on rebels during the first rebellion, but after the war ended, they just released them into the wild. Jabberjays have the ability to copy conversations word for word and repeat them for hours on end. The rebels figured this out during the war and would feed them false information until they basically became useless. They ended up mating with mockingjays to create mockingjays, which could carry sounds and songs, the way jabberjays could. Papa would sing songs out in the woods and they would stop to listen to him sing. Nana says that's where mom and I get our singing voices from.
"She'll love it," I look at the bracelet with the added charm in awe. Little duck and songbird. Dani and Willow. "How much?" I reach in my pocket to pull out the coins.
"Well aren't you a sweet thing." The woman places the bracelet in my hand, closing it into a fist around it. "No charge. For little Dani." This was the second time today someone offered me something for my sister. That girl has the whole district eating out of the palm of her hand.
"No, I insist, please," I pull out all of the extra coins, only keeping the amount for the loaf. "Haymitch gave me extra to buy something for her."
Her eyes lit up. "Oh! Well if it's old Mitchie's money." After she heard that, she easily accepted the coins. I thank her again, hurrying out of the Hob to get home. The trip took longer than usual and I didn't want Mom and Dad to worry. As I expected, Mom was waiting out on the porch for me. As soon as she saw me turn the corner towards the bakery, she stood up, waiting for me to reach her.
"What took you so long, Willow?" She wasn't angry, but I could hear the worry in her voice.
"Sorry, mama. Mr. Abernathy gave me a little extra to get something for Dani at the hob." I pull out the bracelet from my pocket to show her.
She recognizes the charms and smiles. "He's always had a soft spot for you kids," she shakes her head. I furrow my brows. Mr. Abernathy may like Dani but he and I butted heads too often for him to feel the same about me. "She'll love it. When are you going to give it to her?"
"I was thinking before the reaping. She's really nervous about it."
"I think we all are," Mom squeezes my shoulder, herding me into the side door, up the stairs to our house.
Dinner is already on the table and Dani is helping Dad set the silverware. His eyes light up when he sees Mom the way they always have for as long as I can remember. Mom can be a little scary to everyone else, stubborn and not willing to take anything from anyone. I think it's because she was so focused on trying to take care of the people she loves that she doesn't have the time or care for anything else. Dad on the other hand, always seems to be a people person, just like Grandpa, which is what draws everyone to the bakery. But the two of them balance eachother out so well, that anyone who sees them together can tell they were meant to be.
Mom needs the peace that he provides, the quiet openness that helps to extinguish her fire, the unconditional love that formed from the moment he laid eyes on her, and dad needs someone who will love him so strongly and fiercely in a way only mom can. Dad says that her voice is what made him fall in love with her as a child, but experiencing her strength and being loved by her in a way only Katniss Everdeen could, is what made him fall in love with her all over again. He always tells us that if we're lucky enough to be loved by mom, nobody will ever have the chance to hurt us. A couple years ago, I had asked about Dad's mom, and they told me that she wasn't a very good person and hurt dad so badly that he still had nightmares and flashbacks about it. And despite everything that they've tried, the only person who has ever been able to help Dad through them was mom, because she was the only person he ever felt safe around. He saw the way she protected Prim and knew that she would protect him like that too. And she did, several times. She puts him and her family above everyone else, including herself. I hope I can be as strong as her one day too.
Dad comes over to give mom a kiss and me a hug. He pulls out her chair for her and winks at me and Dani, who just giggles. We all get settled to start eating, when Dani pipes up.
"Did you give Mr. Abernathy the cookie?"
"Yes, little duck. He liked it very much," I tell her, brushing her hair out of her face.
"Daddy, did you hear that?"
Dad laughs. "I did. Maybe next time you can decorate it yourself," he suggests.
Dani pouts, sticking her bottom lip way out. "But mine isn't as good as yours."
"That's why you have to practice, baby girl. I wasn't very good when I started decorating. Most people aren't great at first. Although I'm sure your mother came out of the womb shooting bullseyes."
Mom blushes, like she always does when Dad compliments her. "That's not true! Your father is a big buffoon," she huffs, crossing her arms. I almost laugh at how similar she and Dani look right now.
"But I'm your buffoon," he returns, shoveling another forkful of food in his mouth. Her eyes soften and she drops her arms.
I sigh, looking down at my food. At fifteen, you would think I would have had some type of interaction like that. I mean, Dad fell in love with Mom when he was practically five years old!
"I think Mr. Abernathy would really like it if you came with me next time," I tell Dani. She immediately straightens, nodding her head. She then proceeds to spend the rest of dinner going on and on about her end of the year school project and we all listen, smiles on our faces.