17 years later

The light is streaming past the curtains into the room, landing directly onto my face and causing me to scrunch my eyes up just a little bit more.

I pull the covers higher in an attempt to block out the ever growing sunlight. It's no use though, with the chaos beginning to unfold downstairs, the sun will be the least of my problems.

I force myself to get up, pushing myself up from the bed and slowly getting onto my feet.

The bed is empty and the spot usually occupied is now cold. I glance at it briefly, realizing he must have left hours ago. I let out one more yawn before finally dropping the blankets and exposing myself to the cold air. I find my robe tossed across one of the old chairs. Spring was finally leaving and summer setting in.

Summer. Something we can finally enjoy where no children are taken by the cold of winter or the terror of the games.

I haven't heard of a child dying in the winter for years now. No Tribute dead for seventeen years.

This thought gives me slight satisfaction every morning that it pops into my mind. A relief that swells up in my chest and a comfort to keep by me when the dark thoughts begin to creep in.

I go into the bathroom and quickly wash up, wincing when I hear a crashing from downstairs. I'm tempted to yell but know this will only encourage them. They know what today is and they accept it with full force. The train will be getting in around 2 o'clock and if I can just keep the house clean until then, we might just make it with some dignity.

Another crash and somebody starts crying. I take a deep breath and quickly finish up with my braid before tossing it over my shoulder and tying my robe just a little bit tighter. I put on my angry face and walk as fast as I can down the stairs, praying they didn't destroy anything that I really liked.

On the floor is an old vase with shards spread across the wooden planks. Behind the massacre of a once very valuable vase are my two youngest. They stare at the mess with guilty expressions before finally looking towards me.

"Briar did it!" Crucis, my youngest boy is quick to shout.

Briar, my youngest girl, hisses with anger. "He shoved me into the stand."

I know what they're leading up to and that sitting here and looking at them will only cause them to argue over who did what for the next hour. Not today though. Today is a celebration, a time to denounce the past and look forward to the future.

"It's both your fault. Now clean it up." I step over the mess carefully and warn them to wear shoes as well as to make sure to get every last piece.

I go into the kitchen and think of getting breakfast ready when I notice the mess left behind. "Your dad cooked for you, didn't he?" I yell over my shoulder.

"Omelets and pancakes!" Briar yells back.

"Of course he didn't clean up," I mumble, grabbing the dishes and beginning to wash them off.

I might be upset with him if it weren't for the stack of pancakes waiting for me in the stove. I pull them out and try to enjoy a quick breakfast without the yelling in the other room.

You can try anything with those two, separate, punish, scream. They were a year apart but they might as well have been twins with how close they were. They usually wore each other down simply by being with one another which translated to me having a free afternoon when they finally crashed for their naps.

I finish up in the kitchen and return to the living room to inspect the floor. "We got it all." Crucis says, rolling his eyes.

"Get dressed you two, we have errands to run."

"You could just leave us home alone you know?" Crucis mumbles.

A bark of laughter escapes me. "And if I did that, I wouldn't have a home to come back to. Now get dressed."

They scramble off as I go upstairs to get dressed.

Pants and a T-shirt as well as boots. Never went out of style.

"Hurry up, guys!" I yell from the bottom of the stairs.

We leave the house just around ten. The air is much cleaner now, with no coal mines being run anywhere near former District Twelve. They found a better source of it near the Capitol. Twelve is now run by merchants and a small medical factory. The fences have long been torn down and the buildings rebuilt. I'm in what was the former Seam, in a house that I could've never imagined in my former home. Most the homes in Twelve are nice now.

All of them have constant electricity and indoor water.

Despite the Victor's Village being saved from the bombings I never could bring myself to leave the area I grew up in. This was one of my conditions when I agreed to marry Cato.

He didn't mind the location so much as he did our new neighbors. Haymitch must've been getting lonely up in the old village and his new roommate, Effie, needed a place to crash. So of course they sprung on claiming the house next to ours. They enjoyed being pesky and dropping in on the most inconvenient times. We found later that they made decent babysitters.

I grab Crucis and Briar by the arms and walk with them on either side of me. A few people wave to me or try to ask how I'm doing. I smile and tell them I'm fine but very busy today.

They at least get the message and let me continue.

My first stop is a familiar one and a place that always makes me smile, forgetting the suffering that once took place here.

I use my foot to push the door of the Mellark bakery open. Clove is behind the counter where she actually spares a smile when I walk in.

Before they even got married, Clove had basically taken over the bakery and run it with an iron fist. I know it made her happy to shove the success of her work in Peeta's mom's face. Because of Peeta's talent and a great deal of income coming in, there was an entire new menu made for the place.

The Witch of District Twelve may have gotten older, but she did come to glare at her daughter-in-law once in a while.

"What do you want today, Firegirl?"

"I didn't really expect you take orders today, I assumed you were backed up with preparation for this evening."

"We are, but I suppose I can make the exception for you."

"How about a few rolls?"

Wordlessly, she begins to load up the small paper bag with the bread.

I pretend I don't notice her sneaking the kids sugar cookies. She likes to get them hyper so that they're twice as miserable on me. Let her get them restless. I'm about to dump them on their father.

I nibble on my roll as we continue through the town square. It's decorated for tonight's festivities, all the way up to the former remnants of the Justice Building. It's one of the only places not rebuilt upon our return. We realized that there was no real use for it except for the Mayor's office and matters of the Hunger Games. Now there are just a few more merchants' stands there. Places that used to be in the Hob but now out in the open where they're perfectly legal.

We get across the square and continue forward to one of the buildings on the outskirts of the district.

When we first moved to District 12 one of the best things Cato could do was construction. While he'd been trained to kill most of his life, he'd also been raised in a district whose primary export was masonry. It's what he had been taught in school and something he could do rather easily.

He trained a lot of the others what to do but still needed to help out once in a while.

I drag his hell spawns to the door and walk in with no resistance. There aren't many people in today; most of them are probably decorating the city.

Talia jumps up when I enter the room.

"I'm not your free babysitter! You can't pawn them off on me whenever you feel like it."

"Oh don't worry. I wasn't going to ask you."

I kiss Cato on the lips, like I have every day for the last seventeen or so years. We kiss despite the kids making gagging noises or telling us to knock it off. It's familiar and it's nice; it's something I'm grateful for every day.

"So you go do whatever you have to do and we can meet at the train station at two?"

"That's the plan."

I smile warmly to Talia and tell her to help her father take care of her brother and sister.

I walk as quickly as I can to the forest.

Crucis had been sick the last couple days and this would be the first time I'd been out in the woods since.

I'm sure I could buy the meat at the market for dinner tonight, but none of that had ever sounded very appealing. Not when I could go get it myself.

There's not a single sign that a fence once stood over the place I cross. It doesn't really matter though, there aren't many homes close to my favorite hunting grounds and people rarely venture into the woods despite having the freedom to do so.

I go to the hollow tree trunk and remove a newer bow. I finally got around to learning how to make more bows, though I still haven't given up on my former hiding spot.

I throw quiver behind my back and begin to go further into the trees.

The haul is good but I'm going to need something bigger than rabbits and squirrels.

The deer are finally growing in numbers and I'm sure I can find one if I stay out here for a few more hours. The sun peaks in the sky and slowly begins to fall down. It will be 2 o'clock soon and I still need to bring what I have back to the house and then meet the others at the train station.

I get closer and closer to the lake where I know the deer tend to gather.

My bow is strung when I spot fresh tracks.

Over a small hill and through the denser woods. There it is. The perfect buck. Plenty of meat off of it and then some to sell.

I pull back and aim my arrow at it. It's aimed perfectly to penetrate the skull and cause an instant death. I take one deep breath and release the arrow.

I'm only half surprised to see my arrow go straight over the fallen body of the buck.

The arrow now lodged in its skull was well aimed and shot with near perfect precision.

"You're getting better."

"Maybe you're just getting older, mom."

My firstborn jumps down from the small ridge he'd been hiding out in. "What were you going to do when you got it though? You can't carry it back by yourself you know."

I smile and shake my head, "That's why I had you."

He smiles and hands me my arrow after he pries it from the tree.

He throws his bow behind his back and squats beside the deer, getting ready to haul it back to the house.

He was nearly 17 and easily one of the most handsome boys in the District. He had his father's eyes and my hair color. His skin was much paler then mine but managed to clash well with his facial features. A strong jaw line and hard eyes.

He couldn't walk down the road without girls swooning over him and their fathers glaring.

Of course, we got payback for this as Talia grew up and Cato had to learn how to glare like the others did.

Acanthus throws down a tarp and rolls the deer onto it. I grab one end and he grabs the other as we begin to carry the body.

As soon as we get home he begins to work on skinning and preparing the meat for the tonight. I clean the house as best I can and make sure the guest rooms are clean.

My son and I get to the train station just in time to find the others.

Cato's arm wraps around my waist as he pulls me in closer when the ground begins to shake from the quick arrival of a train I once dreaded to get into.

It stops and idles for a second before the doors open and familiar faces come running out.

Glimmer and Marvel are the most noticeable with their typical District One outfits and godly attitude. Plus they have three girls trailing behind them that are anything but plain.

Behind them come Thresh, Marissa, their daughter and their son.

A few more people trickle out before Rue and my mother slowly makes their way out.

I look around me and spot Prim and Rory coming over to reunite with everybody.

When everybody finally makes it towards us, we stand in a circle and exchange a pleasant 'how are you doing?'

It's not until Peeta mentions that he has some food grilling at his house that we break up. Some of them are staying with Cato and I tonight, some with Haymitch and Effie, some with Peeta and Clove. We promise to settle in and all meet over at the Mellarks' house.

The younger kids scream at the top of their lungs as they run around the house on a sugar high. The Mellarks' backyard is big enough that they can run off, yet still be under supervision.

We sit around, exchanging pleasantries and catching up on what was missed since the last time we were together. It's the same old same old that we've been talking about for years.

Glimmer and Marvel are dominating the fashion industry. They tell me Cinna says hello and that he's sorry he can't leave the Capitol until after the launch of the summer line.

It was only a year after the revolution was over that Glimmer and Marvel came out and announced they were together. It wasn't too surprising either. Whenever there was a postwar celebration they usually blamed the alcohol for the way they were kissing and always together, yet failed to realize that what they were drinking was usually swapped for something nonalcoholic.

Glimmer admitted she was reluctant to have a child for the damage it would do to her body, but when I told her I was pregnant with Talia (and she was the second to know, just after Cato) she jumped on the baby train and had her first daughter just a few months after I had my first girl.

Her and Marvel continued to live in the fast lane of high fashion and had started their own company with Cinna.

It was probably Marissa and Thresh that shocked us the most though. I realize they spent a lot of time together during the war but it was still strange to see them together now as a couple.

It happened five years after the war when we were all in District Eleven to celebrate Thresh's win as Mayor. We celebrated for a few days but when it came time to get on the train to go back to our homes, it was a bit of a shock when Marrisa confessed she was staying. And then Thresh threw his arm over her shoulders and smiled.

They say he's the best Mayor any District has ever seen. He remembers just about every wrongdoing done to the people, be it former Peacekeepers or District Eleven citizens themselves. There had been trial after trial until finally, things began to look good.

It wasn't until seven years ago that the two of them had any kids.

My mother left just after Acanthus was born. She wanted to help those who were returning to District Eight and help rebuild and train the new medical students. She would visit constantly and slowly the broken bridge between us was mended.

Rue and Prim did something that they must've talked a lot about in District Thirteen. They traveled for years after the war ended. They would come and check in occasionally, drop-in and help before somebody had a baby. Despite their young age at the time they were usually traveling alone or with minimal supervision.

It didn't really matter though. They were two girls who had seen the cruelty of the world, something my children would never fully understand.

Prim only came to settle down in Twelve a few years ago. She and Rory Hawthorne weren't married, but they lived together and they might as well have been.

Rue lived the single life and served as the ambassador from Eleven to the Capitol, Thresh's eyes and ears.

And Cato and I?

We left the Capitol and came back to District Twelve with my mother and Prim. We had a quickie wedding, one I didn't entirely hate. For a while, we stayed in the Victor's Village but I couldn't stand it. Eventually our house was built and within a couple days of moving in, Acanthus was born.

A few years later and we had Talia.

I thought we would draw the line at two kids but after another anniversary of the Capitol's defeat and a particularly harsh winter when we were snowed in, Crucis and Briar were born.

Life was simple for us. I taught Acanthus to hunt. Cato taught him to fight.

I taught Talia how to shoot a bow but she was much more interested in spears, knives and swords.

Crucis rarely went into the woods and preferred the safety in concrete floors and the precision he could find in swords.

Briar had no interest in blades or hand-to-hand fighting. Instead she would stay by me in the woods and sometimes wander off on her own, or beg me or her brother to take her with us.

The kids were in school and they knew what the Hunger Games were. They knew that their mother and father had been in the final games along with several of their 'aunties' and 'uncles.'

Maybe it was because they had grown up knowing this or simply couldn't grasp the gravity of what the Games were, but none of our kids seemed truly affected by our past.

Not even Acanthus, who was nearly seventeen, around the same age I was when I volunteered to die in my sister's place.

We told him he could watch the seventy-fourth annual Hunger Games when he was eighteen. I dreaded the moment he saw his father kill or the fear in my eyes when I rose on the pedestal.

But he was somber when we told him this news, when he was seven and the school explained to him in full detail what the Games were about.

We had the same conversation a few years later with Talia, her eyes just as blue as her father's with the same pale blonde hair. I hated how when Cato explained to her that he'd been trained to participate in the games his entire life, those beautiful blue eyes of hers lit up with something close to excitement. An almost longing to share the same training he had. That single moment was the most terrified I'd ever felt in parenthood.

Briar and Crucis didn't know all of the details yet. They wouldn't for maybe another year. I could only hope that when Briar sat across the table from us as we explained things to her, her oddly violet eyes wouldn't light up as her sister's had.

The food is done cooking and put on the table for us to serve ourselves.

The table is full of good conversation and old friends catching up over drinks and enough food to fill everybody's bellies.

Later that night Cato and I are walking home alone. The kids decide to have a camp out in the Mellarks' backyard. My mother is already asleep at my house after a day of traveling and the others bid us good night as we depart.

The streets are still pretty full from the others celebrating, most of whom wave to us and say hello.

As we get farther and farther away from them however, it becomes much more silent and much easier to think.

A part of me wants to run back and take Briar and Crucis home with us. Of course they'll be safe with the others but it was only eighteen years ago that a child without a mother was destined to starve.

But then I have to smile because I remember that my children will never know what a Reaping feels like. They'll never fully comprehend why some people still glare at Aunt Effie. They can only assume that I jump at loud noises because they scare me at the moment and not because I hear buildings in District Two collapsing around me. They won't know why daddy's mom is so sad or why Uncle Jet committed suicide when the academy was officially closed. They'll never know what starvation feels like. They'll never have to know that deep beneath the ground they walk on every day are the remnants of what's left of my father.

They'll learn to shoot bows and swing swords because they want to.

And when our children look at each other and their friends, they never have to wonder if they'll be killing that person simply because both their names were drawn.

Cato holds the door open for me and I walk into the dark living room without hesitation, content to know that my four children will grow up in the world we've left them.

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