Uncharted Waters [1]

Chapter 2

"I've been watching you for some time,

Can't stop staring at those ocean eyes."

- Billie EIlish (Ocean Eyes)

Chapter 2

Mira was walking back home after she visited the kids. She noticed the streets were almost empty, except for a few fishermen who might have just returned from the sea. She checked her watch to see it was still an hour before ten. She still had time to wander the secluded parts of the district.

She ventured deeper into the woods until she reached her destination. The Cove is a small sheltered part of the beach, connecting to the greener parts of District 4. This was Mira's special place ever since she was a little girl.

When Mira was a child, she often listened to the fishermen talking about sirens, who lure children to the sea, drowning them. They were stories intended to scare the children away from these parts of 4, because the water is deeper and the waves are rougher, making it almost impossible to swim or fish. But instead of altogether avoiding the cove like the other kids, Mira was even more determined to find this very dangerous place in hopes of finding her mother, whom she thought was a siren during that time. This was because of how the people talked about the late victor, Marilla, who was named "The Siren" when she won the 51st Hunger Games. Those stories had little Mira believe that her mother was a siren and that she was just hiding in the sea from the bad guys who tried to kill her. This led her to always make a side trip to the cove whenever school ended, hoping to see the woman who gave birth to her.

"So beautiful," Mira whispered to herself as she sat down on the sand and stared at the heavy waves of the sea in admiration. She listened to the rough waves hitting the big rocks around the shore, thinking it was strange that something so beautiful as this view in front of her could simultaneously be so dangerous and deadly.

She curled her feet under her chin and dug into the sand, loving the feeling of the fine sand between her toes. She glides her fingers on the sand, making patterns out of it as she smiles, recalling her memory of when she was ten years old.

It was exactly six years ago today, and Mira took the opportunity to go to her favorite place when her Nana and Papa had thought she was still asleep and left her at home for some business at the dock. It was the day of the annual reaping, and children her age could either stay home or watch the event at the time square. In her case, she would just stay home and make crafts from things she collects at the beach. The guilt from escaping home and disobeying her Nana would always be replaced when she arrived in this secluded area. She always thought the water from the cove differed from the usual beaches, making it unique and even more special. The light from the sun makes the sea glisten like diamonds, the fine white sand blanketing all over the area, the big rocks and the trees that shield this beautiful place from others.

It was perfect.

Mira skipped towards the boulder to look for shells and pebbles to collect. As she got closer, she heard soft sobs behind a big rock. It was barely audible due to the loud crashing of the waves, but it was still there. Out of curiosity, Mira stood up from the sand and walked towards where the crying was coming from. She climbed the big rock that prevented her from seeing the source of the cries, scraping her knee in the process. She whimpered as she stopped climbing and sat down on the rock, examining her now bleeding knee. This was the first time she got a wound, and her Nana was going to question her where she got it.

She was too preoccupied with her bleeding knee, that she didn't notice the bronze-haired boy staring at her.

Twelve-year-old Finnick Odair knew that this day would come. When he started to hold a weapon properly, he was immediately trained to become a career tribute for the district. He was strong and was already skilled, but it doesn't mean he couldn't get scared. He feared that he would get chosen to participate in the games, thinking that he wasn't ready and that he could die in that arena anytime. He knew he would eventually volunteer to become a tribute when he got older, as long as he had more time to train.