drapetomonia - the overwhelming urge to run away.
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When Junia Beaumont, her brother and their classmates get a last assignment before the end of the school year, she doesn't know just how quickly things will change for her.
Who would have thought t...
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48. home
The ride to Treech’s house is bumpier than expected. There’s something liberating about it, though, feeling the gentle breeze in her hair and the sun shining down on her.
It almost takes her back to the early days of her childhood, long before the harsh reality of the war came crashing down on her. She remembers it all too well, playing with her friends and being able to live without worrying about anything at all.
Nowadays, it’s hard for her to believe that she was ever able to feel that way while being in the Capitol. Before she left, she felt trapped and suffocated, like she couldn’t breathe. But the further they get away from the train station and the longer the distance between individual houses becomes, the more she feels at ease. Cas not being with her weighs her down heavily. She wishes he could be here with them right now, but she consoles herself with the knowledge that he will sooner or later.
She notices that once they get away from the town square, Seven still feels alive in its own way. With its endless green landscape, the sound of birds chirping far up in the trees, and the sun shining down on them, it almost feels like something straight out of a fairytale.
Lucky for Treech, it seems not everyone has been keeping up with the Games in Seven. The man in charge of the carriage doesn’t ask too many questions. It might also be his age; June assumes the man must be close to his late seventies at least, which helps Treech in this scenario.
But she knows the question is still in the back of his mind: Will his family welcome him with open arms, or will they shun him? To June, it isn’t much of a question. They’ll be overjoyed to finally have their son and brother back after thinking that they would never see him again for so long.
The further they get from the town square, the more simple the houses they pass become. While it seemed many brick houses were near the train station, the houses now range from smaller to bigger timber shacks, some of them with a top floor but most without one.
Her eyes flicker over to Treech, and her expression softens when she sees the way he’s taking everything in. Despite his worries, he looks at peace here in nature. His hat is on his lap, one arm around her shoulder, and the wind is blowing through his curls. It does funny things to her, seeing his features more relaxed than ever before. Even when he’s sleeping, he sometimes looks a bit more tense than he does now.
She rests her head against him and smiles, a fuzzy warmth spreading from her chest across her entire body. It’s a bit scary to take this step without her family, but all things considered, she comes to the conclusion that she should think of him as her family now as well. In Seven, he’s all she has.
