Songs & Seas | Hunger Games

XIII.

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DISTRICT 11 AND 10 WENT BY IN A BLUR. The interaction she had with Echo wasn't a pleasant one and she didn't meet Orion. Nor did she meet Dorcas or Curran. She didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse. Although she didn't know them like she knew Percy or Nora, speaking to their districts in front of their grieving families made her feel like a fraud.

She stood behind the curtain of the stage in District 9, Clodagh and Percy's district. She thought about them frequently. Although she and Clodagh didn't know one another, she found herself thinking of her choice to jump from the podium, taking her death into her own hands. She wondered if her family thought of it that way.

Percy lives in her mind. He's present in every dream and every nightmare. The intense guilt of his death eats her alive. She killed him. It was an act of mercy but she doubted his family would see it that way. Maybe if she hadn't thrown that blade Percy would've gained the upper hand and gotten away from the beast. What if she hadn't closed Poppy's eyes? Or what if Percy didn't go so far up the mountain?

With all these "what-ifs" running through her head, she was constantly nagged by the thought: Would it even make a difference? Would any of the other possibilities running through her head change anything? Or was she just as destined to win, as Percy was to die? And if that were true for Percy what about the others? Arlo? Archer? Nora? Even Titus? Did they all have the same fate?

So taken by her thoughts she didn't even hear the mayor introducing her until the curtain opened and she was blinded by the sun hitting her eyes. Subconsciously her feet began to walk forward. She smiled for the photo as she shook the mayor's hand before walking over to the podium.

"Hello, my name is Maria-Rose Covey. Although as a Victor I am grateful to stand here before you kind people. I am also aware of the great loss that you've endured." The same spiel every time that she was growing really bored of.

"Clodagh," she looked to the platform where the O'Brien family stood. She had two little siblings a boy and a girl, both with red hair just like their mother, who looked so much like Clodagh you'd think they were twins. Her father was of average height but he was strong, no doubt from working in the fields. District 9 was the grain district after all.

Maria was far away but she could see Clodagh's sibling's rapid breaths as they wept for their sister. She looked at the crowd and realized she hadn't been speaking all this time.

"And Percy" she stuttered out looking at Percy's family. Five little sisters and a brother just like he had told her. All dark-haired and pale just like their brother. His father had died so his mother stood alone. She was thin with gray streaks in her hair. Percy said she'd been ill. The littlest of the girls clung to her mother's waist like a lifeline.

Maria could feel the tears creeping up on her. Biting her cheek, she stared at Percy's face on the banner behind his family. Her mouth bobbled, and the cards shook in her hands. She looked down at them, but it was like the words didn't make sense anymore.

From behind the curtain, Rhett was pacing back and forth running his hands through his hair.

Her hands fell to her sides, and Maria's eyes grew glassy. "Percy White was kind to me," she stated, looking at his mother, who was staring her directly in the eye. "He called it a force of habit from having five sisters, but it wasn't just that." Maria shook her head. "He was a good person. He tried to help me, and I tried to help him. I can't say if it was the right decision, but in his final moment, I did what I did out of love because that's what you do for your friends, and Percy was a good friend."
His mother gave a slight bow of her head before kissing her youngest daughter's hair.