Windgrass (A Hunger Games Fan Fiction)

Seven: Cherry

I am in a foul mood now.

This morning, before leaving for school, I went out to my favorite cherry tree to relax. Nestled among the branches, picking at the ripe cherries that remained on the branches and letting my mind wander to the other Districts for a while. From the tree, relatively high up, mind you, I can see the train station, train tracks, and part of the Justice Building.

There is a portion of the tracks that haven’t been used in decades, according to my father. Well… the part about the ‘decades’ is according to my father. Anyone can tell the tracks aren’t used anymore. Grass and weeds have all but taken over the worked metal. The wooden boards once resting underneath the rail have rotted away, leaving a strange pile of dirt and decomposed wood in their place. Small pink flowers sway in the wind here and there. The air carries the small of cherries and grass. I could easily spend hours, even days, up here.

I wonder how far it is from Nine to Ten, and Eight to Nine. I wonder how long it takes to get from one District to another, on average. I wonder what other kids do during the day, after school, on weekends, at night.

There is no one to answer me, so I make things up.

“District 1 kids have art exhibitions every Saturday night. District 2 kids have mock wars over certain food items, though everyone gets a fair share at the end. District 3 kids play computer games in mass tournaments. District 4 kids hang out on the beaches. District 5 kids do whatever they want. District 6 holds races every weekend. District 7 have lumberjack-esque competitions, like log rolling and tree cutting. District 8 kids put on fashion shows. District 10 holds various animal competitions. District 11 host flower and plant expos. District 12 kids have bonfires and camp-outs,” I say aloud to myself.

“What are you talking about, Fairy of the Cherry Tree?” someone asks suddenly.

I jumped, startled, and lost my balance. My hands reached out blindly, trying to grab anything to prevent my inevitable fall. My hand exploded in jagged pain as I grabbed onto a branch. The ground was hard, but surprisingly warm. Hot liquid spread across my palm as I struggled to catch my breath.

“Sorry,” the speaker apologized, sounding genuinely concerned.

“I’m fine,” I replied, sitting up.

It was Kael I landed on by accident. We aren’t best friends, but we aren’t enemies either. He’s the sort of person who if you’re nice to him, he’ll be nice to you, and vice versa for meanness.  We’re in the same class at school and often pair up on projects.

“Your hand… I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said.

“Oh, it’s just a scratch. I’ll be fine,” I said quickly to hide my sudden embarrassment. Of course, it was more than just a scratch. My skin had been shredded by the rough bark on the branch, but I didn’t want to trouble him. I focused on looking for my glasses. My eyesight isn’t horrible, but it’s less than perfect. There was a new crack in them. I’d have to get them repaired.

“Here, give me your hand,” he said, pulling out a bottle of water and a handkerchief.

The cold water stung awfully. I feared I’d crack my teeth from how hard I ground them against the pain. Once the blood was washed away, I could clearly see four large cuts in the palm of my hand, framed by who knew how many smaller ones. I looked away as he bound my wound, feeling sick. My stomach is not the strongest; I watched my mother prepare a chicken for dinner one night and nearly vomited while watching her pluck the feathers. That’s another reason I don’t watch much of the Games. I can only hope I don’t get Reaped, and if I do that my death is swift.

“What did you call me earlier?” I asked, to fill the silence.

“Fairy of the Cherry Tree,” he replied. “You reminded me of a book I read once, a long time ago. There was a girl who lived in a cherry tree, the fairy of the cherry tree. She would sit in the tree and eat the cherries all day long. One day, she fell out of the tree because men had begun cutting it down to make lumber for houses. After her tree was cut down, she went on a journey to find another tree to care for. Seeing you in the branches, nibbling at the cherries, I just thought of that story, is all…” He shrugged, folding the handkerchief so he could wrap it around my wound.

“I remember that story. That’s from a children’s book,” I chatter.

“There, that should hold until you get home,” Kael said with a certain amount of pride. He looked at me so directly, with those bright blue eyes. I feel so strange around him.

“Thank you,” I replied, my cheeks heating slowly.

“It’s nothing. But I would recommend a visit to my dad’s office before the day is done, to make sure you don’t get an infection.” He smirked and wandered off, following the old, unused-in-decades tracks.

The handkerchief was plain white, with red spots here and there from my cuts. I clenched my fist, ignoring the searing pain. I was still confused about what I read in Aisling’s diary yesterday.

My emotions are in a tizzy lately. I fear for my well-being.