The Mockingjay Flies Again

Chapter 4 - Silence

When Haymitch and I go into the room with our families, we are all silent. I feel so bad for being weak. The last time I cried like that was when Prim died. If only I could see her now. Her bright smile and her golden hair. Oh, I miss her so much. A lone tear slides down my cheek. No. I think to myself. I need to be strong for Peeta. For Rye and Willow. For Prim. I am awakened from my trance as I hear Effie talking.

"We should arrive at our destination in about 30 minutes. We need to be ready. We are on a strict schedule" I give her a sad smile.

"Are you okay mom?" asks Willow in a calm manner.

"Yeah" I say. I was just thinking about......her" I say, staring into space

"Her?" I hear Rye whisper to Willow. Willow just shrugs.

Stop this. I think to myself. Remember what Haymitch said. You need to be strong. I think. I wipe my tears and put on a smile.

"So kids, where do you think we're going?" I ask, trying to be as cheerful as possible. They look at me like I'm a ghost. Willow was the first to speak up.

"I'm not sure. The only thing that I've heard about our past was the Hunger Games" she says with a shrug. Peeta, Haymitch, Effie, and myself all freeze at this. "They don't seem too important though." she continues.

"I need to take a walk" says Peeta and abruptly leaves the room. Haymitch and I give each other quizzical looks.

"I'm going to join him" I say and leave the room. As I'm leaving I hear Willow say "Why won't anybody tell us why their acting weird! It's not fair!"

"Willow" says Haymitch "You have no right to decide what's fair and what's not. Your parents have had the worst past anyone could ever imagine." his voice raised

"Then why don't they just tell us! We deserve to know!" spits out Rye

Haymitch lowers his voice "Your parents deserved so much more than what they got. You need to be thankful that you have a family. Because, for a while, your parents didn't have one."