Hey lovely readers! So, this story is an edited version of the original that I wrote back in 2013. It's been a while since I've written anything to do with The Hunger Games, but a couple readers have asked me if I would ever consider revisiting Mermaid of Panem and after some though, I said what the heck lol. With all the craziness happening this year it seemed like a good idea to do something for fun. I have made a few changes from the original as they were honestly very much needed! Hope you guys enjoy!

There was a time where my own reflection didn't frighten me. Where I wasn't haunted by the faces of those that died in order for me to survive. My eyes used to be filled with light and innocence. But that was all in the past. No one could ever remain innocent in a world where children were sent to kill each other to please the hunger of those in power.

I didn't have a perfect life before the Games, but it was a life that I craved more than ever as they cheered my name over and over. As my name fell from their lips in unison, I wished to be someone else. To be the girl that once had a family. To be the girl before the games. The one that didn't fake a smile to hide all the pain. I could close my eyes a thousand times and pretend that it was all a nightmare, but it was all fruitless. I no longer believed that I could hope.

My future had been written out for me the moment I had been reaped into the 70th Hunger Games. My worst mistake had been surviving them, because no one could ever call it winning. There were no true victors, only survivors. I was one of them. A survivor that wished she had died back in that arena. As my mind fought to lead me further into the darkness, I would hold onto the little moments that kept me human.

Although the games had taken practically everything from me, they had given me something or rather someone. He would become the only light in this dark tunnel. I would come to care for a few others, but Finnick…he would be my sole purpose to continue existing. His dimpled smile and childlike eyes would give me the strength to endure what this survival would bring.

I was fifteen when I became a murderer. I was sixteen when everything was taken from me. The girl on fire isn't the only one with a story. Mine happened four years before she sparked the rebellion. My story was of a young girl that knew love, loss, and above all how to survive when the odds were stacked against her.

I'm Anwyn Cresta. Victor of the 70th Hunger Games. The broken girl that was known as the Mermaid of Panem.