A FIREFLY IN FLIGHT || Quil Ateara

five; cinnamon bun.

They hadn't stayed at the beach very long.

In just under an hour, both of them agreed that going home would be in their best interest because neither of them had feeling in their hands or feet. Seth had a shower first when they got back, and Rosemary went in after him. She wanted to just sit under the hot water until the numbness went away, but instead she went and made herself a can of soup and some tea, and then went back down to her room.

As she ate she looked through her notebook where she written lyrics or blurbs or ideas for songs she could write. This was the third one she was working on; the other two were left somewhere at her mothers house.

Rosemary flipped page after page, studying the words she'd written down without any idea of where they could go.

You'll get better soon, 'cause you have to

I thought 'Heaven can't help me now', but nothing lasts forever.

And that's how it works; that's how you get the girl

Say you'll see me again even if it's just in your Wildest Dreams

Red lips and rosy cheeks

I want you for worse or for better; I would wait forever and ever; broke your heart and put it back together

Most she had jotted down while in the midst of watching TV or reading. Inspired by fictional romances and heartbreaks. Hazel losing Augustus. Clary and Jace. Violet losing Finch. Simon and Isabelle. Bianca and Wesley. Alec and Magnus. Celeana and Chaol. Tessa and Will. The stories and feelings were endless.

Most of what impacted her life growing up was fiction, and the characters eventually became more important to her than family. Her mother and father were too busy fighting, Gran was unwell and living across the country at the time, and her Nanny — the only constant adult in her life — also doubled as the family house keeper. Most people didn't have the necessary time to spend with her, so pages and screens were what made her.

She had finished reading the Hunger Games trilogy and had been absolutely shattered. She had cried for Rue and Thresh. For Mags and the grief it drowned Finnick in. For the agony they put Johanna through before torturing her in the Capitol. For Peeta, who only ever wanted to be kind and was turned into someone hateful.

Especially for Katniss. For the girl on fire, who unintentionally inspired an entire country to rebel against their oppressors when all she wanted was to save the boy who saved her. For the girl on fire, who truly was only a girl. For the girl on fire, a seventeen year old child forced to take the face of an entire nations trauma, and fight against the man who already tried to kill her.

For the girl on fire, who served her purpose and was tossed aside when the children stopped dying and bombs stopped falling.

Maybe it was biased, as the story was told in her perspective, but Rosemary would be the first to admit that Katniss Everdeen was one of her favourite fictional characters to exist. So yes, she spent a lot of time crying for her.

In her grief she reread the series twice more, and ended up writing a song. It was written from Katniss' point of view, naturally, and Rosemary did the best to tell her story.

She had a few favourite lines, such as; "an imposter wears his face, one I barely recognize",  "but look over your shoulder, see my target on your back",   "we're players in a game that I don't intend to lose"