kill for your love - the hunger games

EPILOGUE.

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

KILL FOR YOUR LOVE.

epilogue (sweet dreams, my love)

johanna and juniper's cabin.

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

JOHANNA WAS GROUCHY THAT she was now old. Juniper didn't mind it much. In fact, now in her elderly state, it had garnered her a new peace that she didn't think she would have before. Now that she was well in age, she wasn't expected to do much. She wasn't expected to go anywhere, not that she had left Seven since she arrived that rainy night. She wasn't expected to listen to anyone, not that she did before. And it meant that, with no-one bothering them, she could at least spend time with Johanna. 

Their days consisted of waking up in the same bed, curled around each other's frail frames. The morning sun would shine through the open red, cotton curtains, bouncing on whatever reflection it could. Birds would be chirping, depending on the season, and the two elderly women would lay in the thick, embroidered sheets until one of them had enough energy to get up. It was usually Johanna. 

They would get dressed slowly as their joints and muscles ached from age, not from torture. Juniper would decide if a cardigan was necessary by seeing how much the trees swayed within the wind and knowing District Seven, it was always necessary. Johanna, however, would ignore her partner's advice and would wear whatever she wanted to. Of course, later on in the day, she would clamber upstairs to retrieve a sweater. 

Once the two women were both dressed, they would make their way downstairs, grasping the rough handrail as they did in fear of an accident that involved tripping and landing sorely on the squeaky wooden floorboards. Once risk of injury had disappeared, they would turn the corner into the brown and crimson kitchen where breakfast would be well on its way. 

The starting meal of the day varied depending on what mood Juniper and Johanna were in. Some days, it was pancakes in which the former would persuade the latter to make. Other days, it was mere toast they baked on the stove. Few, it was mere cereal grain which had arrived fresh from District Nine. Today, it was that. Grain sprinkled with some sliced fruits, which was Juniper's job. 

Holding a knife in her hand, it didn't terrify her anymore. There wasn't the urge to kill everyone in sight. She wasn't tortured with the flashbacks of her past. Whenever a silver blade was in view, all she would put her healed head to was cutting fruit or vegetables by Johanna's request. They both had moved past those stages in their lives. 

In saying that, the nightmares never left, even in their old age. Even if they were younger, middle-aged, or elderly, the horrors never left them. There were nights where Juniper swore she heard something, opening her eyes to see the skeletal frame of Dr. Clampitt. Other nights, Johanna would wake up panting, Finnick's name falling from her lips. The nightmares never left and they never would, but they had each other. That was enough.

Once breakfast was ready to eat, the couple would normally move out onto the patio out back. They would sit on the sun lounges, staring out into the forest as they ate their meal. Sometimes it was in silence. Other times, bickering and teasing would fill the air. But whatever it was, it was always a highlight of their days.