Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins.

Once Remembered

It will never again be forgotten.

Part One – The Reaping

Chapter One

"Smile Melanie. Nothing is wrong. Smile… Melanie!" I stared at my father and smiled. "Good Melanie. Good. You have to tell them you lost the fish. You hear me? You lost the fish so you had to go get it. Then you came back, that's it alright?"

I opened my mouth to speak, to tell him what he wanted to hear, but as I thought over what I was doing I choked on my words and the tears were given the freedom to flow. And they did, endlessly.

A slap.

My cheek burned but I did nothing. I showed no evidence of it happening. I remained indifferent to the pain. I didn't move or attempt to run from my father. He grabbed me by both shoulders and forced me to look him in the eye.

"Melanie, what the hell is wrong with you? I am serious. You have to do what I tell you to do." I didn't say anything, I couldn't reassure him, I couldn't. Not when I was in such a wreck. My father moved his hand and I looked to the ground as I waited for another slap. It came just as hard as the first. I staggered at my spot but didn't back away.

"You will listen to me Melanie. You need to do this. Melanie!"

I opened my eyes as I emerged from the cool water. There is nothing as soothing as having my entire body submerged by the affection of the sea. I am the daughter of Neptune. I am the daughter of the sea. Connections I feel so genuinely to the open water, can't be explained otherwise. I am a part of the ocean, and she is a part of me.

Before I knew it, I had swum a few miles too far from the coastline. The waves were full and passionate. They kissed my skin as I stayed afloat to relish the enchantment in the waters. The morning sun caressed my hair and showered me with warmth both physically and spiritually. Nothing else would have proven that I was alive. But as I floated there, away from civilization, I was whole-heartedly alive.

But these moments don't last forever. Peacekeepers don't strictly monitor the waters, but there is a penalty that is better avoided. So I found myself in my land clothing again, walking from my heart's calling into the mainland. To where my school was. I was about to open the door inside when a boy helped me to it. I vaguely recognized him, all the boys looked the same to me. I never made an effort to remember them.

I was early, so there was almost no one around. My locker was at the very back of the school, so I waved to the few people I passed as I made my way down. I saw Sera had left her books in our locker, which meant she hadn't done any of her homework. I pulled my backpack off and took out the books I needed before leaving it in my locker. The school was small and there had never been enough lockers. Everyone was required to have a locker partner to share with. Sera was my partner.

The four classes that I was required to go to went by fairly quick. Sera had told me during lunch that we were going to meet on the isle to celebrate with beer. It was obvious what we were celebrating, we did it every year. It was in some ways a good-luck party, and in others, a goodbye. We always celebrated a week before the reaping.

I was out the class the moment the bell rang. The school is small for our population of four thousand. There are five schools in all of District 4, and our school was in fact the least populated. Of all the districts, District 4 had the longest lifespans and the most stable population. It made sense as we had the easiest life of them all. The peacekeepers were much more lenient to us because they had close to no idea how our district managed to do what we did.

There are virtually no peacekeepers on the open water as most of them either disliked the water, feared it, or just felt above it all. It suited us fine though, most of us spent our lives on the water. We were fine unbothered by the peacekeepers. We knew how harsh they were in other districts and personally, I believe our district is the best. It's full of such delicate beauties. I thought of the ocean and felt my heart race with affection. We put the Capitol to shame with all the false beauty. Most of the Capitol people had never even gone to any of the districts, they lived in their little city of pretend heaven.

I heard Theo's rough footsteps behind me then. "Don't touch me" I snapped, just loud enough for him to hear as he lifted his hand to above my shoulder. His hand hovered in the air gracelessly as we walked before he had the sense to lower it.

"How was your day?" He asked softly.

"I don't want to have small talk."

Theo sighed as he paced with me. "Come on the boat with me before we go to the island?"

I thought about the stock of seaweed we had at home. We weren't desperately low, but I liked to keep the supply safe because I was a partial-complete seaweed addict. The seaweed my father always got from the store was supposedly of 'the best quality', but nothing beat fresh seaweed.

My father didn't like me in the water though, he was the mayor of the District and thought himself to be above it all. So, of course, he liked to keep his only daughter that way too.

"Melanie I don't want to see you in the water." He would always say, and follow with an elaborate explanation about how we are masters of the world and we needn't disgrace ourselves with the water, but I knew the truth.

It was because of my mother.

I reminded him too much of my mother when I was in the water. My mother had fiery hair just like mine. I remember her telling me when I was much younger that father had often called her Sunset when they were youthful lovers. From the distance, she could be mistaken as for a sunset.

I shuddered as I remembered her. My hair was the same shade of red, it was so abnormal and yet beautiful to some, that we often received nothing but stares as we walked. I had loved having the same hair as my mother's when I was little, having no genetic influence from my father in hair color. Otherwise I would have had a dull brown.

As the years passed however, I learned to hate the same shade of red I'd spent so many years loving. I hated it as much as the mother I had once loved. I chopped it off the day I realized how much I hated my own mother, and it now hung unevenly at the side of my head. The left side of my head is often covered by the longer side of my bangs.

I nodded to Theo as I made my resolve, "I'll meet you at the west pier." The one that's been abandoned for years.

Theo smiled at me. I couldn't even fake him a smile back.

I walked slowly through the town and into my father's large house. It was bigger than all the houses outside the Victor's Village, him being the mayor and all. But that came with many more drawbacks then rewards.

He was sitting at the living room computer when I returned him. He preferred the one in his office, but kept one in the living room so I could feel less like he was completely neglecting me as he worked. He was talking quietly, with the Capitol officials probably, updating them on the condition of the district.

"Good afternoon father." I said softly.

He nodded at me and continued his work. I didn't expect anything more. I looked in my drawer for my swimsuit and hid it under my clothes. My father was still on the phone when I went downstairs, I was at the door when it suddenly went silent.

Because it didn't feel particularly normal, I turned around and saw my father leaning against the wall. I started at him for a couple minutes with my hand on the doorknob.

"Melanie." He called softly. "Where are you going?"

I lowered my hand and turned to face him directly. "We're going to stargaze. It's for school." Safe answer, he approved of astronomy.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" He questioned, worried but not suspicious.

"We decided today."

"Why are you going now? It's not even dark."

"We need to get ready."

He stared at me, I didn't give anything away. I was used to lying to him.

"Okay then. Have fun." He went back to the computer without another word. I stood idly at the door and hesitated feeling that bitter sentiment of neglect. I went back in the living room. Why did I go back?

I saw my father sitting at the computer, typing away. I was already off his mind.

"Daddy?" I called softly, as if I were a little girl again.

He continued to type, paused, and then looked at me. "You're still here."

I nodded.

'Is something wrong?"

"I…" I didn't know what to say. I just wanted his attention. "I wanted to say I love you." I paused. "I love you daddy."

He stared at me like I was an idiot. "Yes Melanie. It goes without saying that I love you too." He went back to working. I was insignificant.

Desperately trying to forget him, I ran to the pier. It was afternoon so it was packed with people. I walked along it, waving to people I vaguely knew, and eventually I reached the abandoned beach. There was no fish in the water because the beach had been terribly polluted by an oil spill several years back.

I hid my clothes under the sand behind a rock and ran into the water. I swam as fast as I could until I was in the middle of the water. Then I floated on my back and stared at the blue sky.

Oh it was nice. It was so nice to be in the water again. I lazed around enjoying the freedom before my body was able to respond to my priorities. I began to swim over to the abandoned pier where ghetto kids mostly hung out at. That was where I lived, it was where I felt like I became alive.

The kids who swarmed the place rejected me at first. This was immediately after my mother died, she was a victor and my father was the mayor. I was as far from ghetto as anyone could have imagined, but I wanted a place at the pier. It took them ages to accept me as one of them. Even with money or power as far as it goes, they eventually understood that I was as pitiful and neglected as all of them were.

My brother was also quite well known in the district. He had once aspired to be a Career and was well on his way before he gave that up and became a peacekeeper. Nobody understood why, we weren't lacking money at all, so we weren't in any sort of debt to anybody. Nobody forced him so everyone assumed it was just because he wanted a piece of the capitol life.

I was the only one who didn't believe that was true. He had only changed his mind when my mother died. A lot of things changed when my mother died, and I understood that my mother's death had the greatest effect on me. My brother may have changed his career, but I changed my life. I felt bitter as I swam.

Author's Notes

Read and review, little birdies! (:

-creativename