Hunger Games: Under The Willow

Parsips and Daisies

My eyes flutter open to the sound of Rye's tossing and turning. I pull the covers off me and place my feet on the cold floor. I walk over to Rye's side of the room where he is rolling around, covers at his feet.

           I pull back the woolen blanket up to his shoulders and brush his golden locks out of his eyes. He may be a pain sometimes but most of the time he is a sweet talented 14 who loves to bake with his father.

He stopped squirming.

                 I look out the window to the town and very little activity is happing this early in the morning. This means very little have traveled into the woods yet. I brush my hair down but don't braid it, I like the untamed feel to it. I grab my collecting bag two knifes and Mom's old bow. A simple wooden bow she used in hunting in these same woods not at all like the sleek black one she used in taking down the capital when she was one year older than I. I don't know much about the war only that Daddy forgot Mom but fought himself to help Mom in order to take down the dreadful Capital who forced kids into killing each other for the population. This bow is one of the many things I keep tucked away in my brown leather bag but never use, for I prefer the knifes.

                      I creep past Mom and Dad's room careful not to wake my newly pregnant mother. "Wow", I think to myself, " Another member in the family." Maybe the this little girl will be willing to come with me to hunt and collect herbs for the food supply that we never need, yet I do every morning, just because it calms me. I finally reach the hole in the fence cut for people to come and go as they please. I run through the fence gate and rush to the lake where Mom takes us to swim in the summer. I sit dipping my dirt covered toes into the clear water feeling the cold rush of minerals and fish brushing my feet and collecting the wild parsnips deep from in the dark brown dirt placing them into the bag as I do. I hear a defined crunch of a raw parsnip behind me I spin around coming face to face with a boy with dark brown hair and chocolate eyes.

"We don't have many parsnips up in two.", he states calmly
I was so startled that I barely made out the words "You're from two?"

He laughed and his smile make me feel like I swallowed a pint of honey. "Yah I'm new.", he let's out proudly , "Family just moved here, how about you?"

I let out a soft fairy-like giggle and respond softly, "District twelve, born and raised." , I suddenly felt weird talking to a stranger in the woods, but as if he read my mind he called out,

"Name's Austin, What's yours?"

I grin from ear to ear an say almost shout "Willow!"
"Well Willow..." , he said picking up a single daisy from the fresh ground, "See you, tomorrow?"

He placed the daisy behind my right ear and left the woods I stare back at the lake where the red and black spotted fish swam around within it. My reflection comes to focus and I see the daisy softly lain on my ear. I smile grab my stuff and race out of the woods.