Being In Love With You - Sequel of After The Always

Chapter 47

Peeta's POV

Willow's head snaps up from her art desk as she must hear my footsteps entering the room.
"Hey Dad." She greets and smiles.

I smile and walk into the room. I glance at her canvases and piles of sketchbooks. My trait she's taken.

"What are you working on sweetie?" I ask as I approach the sunny corner of the room where her right hand furiously moves around.

"Nothing much. Just another piece of work for my art qualification." Willow answers and shrugs.
I loom over her shoulder and see what she's working on.

The exact one. The exact Willow tree in the meadow with the swing I made for Katniss 32 years ago, still hanging strong. The colours showing the way the sun hits the leaves.

"You've been creating artwork for 7 years now and each day you're getting better and better." I state.

"Dad." Willow laughs.

"It's true." I say pulling up a stool close by and sitting down beside her. "I'm here to make sure you get that qualification certificate at graduation in a couple of months."

"I know." There a pause of silence for a short time. I don't know what to say.

My Willow Alyssa Mellark is to graduate in a couple of months. Willow Mellark. 16 years old.

"Is there anything you think this needs doing?" She asks placing her pencil down and tilting her sketchbook towards me.

I fixate my eyes in what she's done and my mind switches on.

"What you could do is-" I pause searching the green watercolour pencils she's using and find the right shade of dark green. "-is add a little bit more shadow under the swing." I finish and darken the swing shadow slightly on the paper.

Once I finish, I place the pencil down on the wooden desktop and point out what I did to Willow. "Like that." Willow nods understanding and gets out her black pen from her pencil case.

"That's done." She exclaims and adds her signature and date to the corner of the sketchbook. Willow smiles and admires what's she done.

Soon enough her head turns and she gets up. I follow her course and see her heading to another desk where her camera sits.

"I'm going to go to the meadow to get some more photographs for my photography portfolio. Is that okay?" She says facing me and grasping the cameras neck strap.

"Yeah go ahead. Not for long though please. Last time you got Mum worried sick." I remind.

"I know. I won't be that long." she adds and hangs the camera from her neck. I stand up and walk to her.

"Willow." I say and she turns to face me.

"Yeah Dad?" I hold her cheeks in my hands and kiss her forehead.

"I love you." I comment.

"I love you too." Willow happily smiles and runs out of the room to go and get her creative mind working.

I walk to the window and see her running towards the meadow. Her brown hair flowing behind her in the breeze.
She'll always be my little girl.