hope in our eyes || 37th hunger games ✔️

Lost and Found - Violet

They both died. Olive and Aspen both. Died. And Violet was crushed. She stayed locked up in her room crying under the covers whenever she wasn't working. People tried to comfort her. Others just gave her sad looks and otherwise avoided her.

Cedar was sad too, though she didn't fully understand the weight of what had happened. And Violet's mother and father were heartbroken, and stressed; without Olive and Aspen, their family wasn't able to provide for themselves as well. They fell into a sort of... disrepair.

It took nearly a year for Violet to finally start seeing her friends and going to town again. One day while at the market she met a young man around her age and they instantly took a liking to each other. 

Perhaps Violet just really needed someone to love. Maybe she wanted something to distract her from the hauntings of her past. Nevertheless, Violet Oleander and Danny Brown were hopelessly in love, and within a few months after that they were happy to announce they were with child.

Violet's mother and father were first shocked, then overjoyed, and Cedar was ecstatic to have a baby coming.

Nine months later the beautiful baby girl was born, and Violet and Danny named her Tessa Aspen Oliver Brown. But things soon turned dark and murky again. The baby was taken from them hastily, having been born premature, and was later revealed to be stillborn.

Violet shattered again. It was all too much. She had finally gotten over the death of her siblings, and now her child had been ripped from life even before she got a chance to live it. 

Violet suddenly had an idea. A crazy one, but she was feeling awful crazy at the time. She packed up a bag with extra clothes and food and rushed for the weakest part of the district fence. She nearly got electrocuted by the charged fence as she carefully crawled across the threshold, but she made it. And then she ran. She ran harder and faster than she ever had before. Towards freedom. Towards a new beginning. Maybe she was delusional, but it was too late to turn back.

Three months later, back in District 11, a scheme was discovered. The midwife who'd delivered Tessa had always wanted a child of her own, but was sterile and couldn't have children, so after Tessa was born, she took her and told Violet and her family that she was dead! 

Danny had been stricken with grief from Tessa's supposed death and Violet's disappearance, and one day as he was wallowing in sadness and drink a very official looking man came to his house, explained what he called the 'mixup', and delivered Danny and Violet's baby girl to him.

"Tessa!" Danny cried and weeped over his child. She was still alive! If only Violet was there to see! But she was gone, off in the wilderness all alone. 

So Danny raised Tessa by himself, into a smart, kind, happy girl. And every time he looked at her he saw Violet. Every time.