[Twenty.
She doesn't realize it until later in the day. Until she's back from her morning trek in the forest, passing the calendar in the kitchen as she makes her way to stow the skinned and dressed squirrels in the freezer. The calendar's turned to the month of May. And it has been for the past eight days. Today's May 8th. Today, she turns twenty.
That's two decades lived. Four years since she survived the 74th Hunger Games and two since she outlived her sister, found herself trapped in Luceti. She nearly drops the squirrels when the date clicks in her head. She can feel it building within her, the verge of losing everything. Crawling into a corner somewhere within her bedroom - her original bedroom with the forest mural that Peeta once painted - and do absolutely nothing all day. Because it's the same thought ringing through her head that seems to come every birthday:
She never should have lived this long.
But she did. And, somehow, someone or something rewarded her for that. Because she still has Prim here to celebrate with. Prim to have dinner with tonight and to sing and dance with, pretending for the night that she never died. That they never wound up in this place. Even if she doesn't know how long it'll last, today she has Prim to celebrate with.
Living for each day. It's been a long time since she's done that. Instead, she's attempted to shelter herself, hide from anyone that might care.
Taking a deep breath, she finally puts the squirrels in the freezer. Then, she pulls out her journal and flips it open. There's a shy smile on her face as she looks at the camera.]
I'm twenty today. And I think I'd like to celebrate.
What would you recommend?
She doesn't realize it until later in the day. Until she's back from her morning trek in the forest, passing the calendar in the kitchen as she makes her way to stow the skinned and dressed squirrels in the freezer. The calendar's turned to the month of May. And it has been for the past eight days. Today's May 8th. Today, she turns twenty.
That's two decades lived. Four years since she survived the 74th Hunger Games and two since she outlived her sister, found herself trapped in Luceti. She nearly drops the squirrels when the date clicks in her head. She can feel it building within her, the verge of losing everything. Crawling into a corner somewhere within her bedroom - her original bedroom with the forest mural that Peeta once painted - and do absolutely nothing all day. Because it's the same thought ringing through her head that seems to come every birthday:
She never should have lived this long.
But she did. And, somehow, someone or something rewarded her for that. Because she still has Prim here to celebrate with. Prim to have dinner with tonight and to sing and dance with, pretending for the night that she never died. That they never wound up in this place. Even if she doesn't know how long it'll last, today she has Prim to celebrate with.
Living for each day. It's been a long time since she's done that. Instead, she's attempted to shelter herself, hide from anyone that might care.
Taking a deep breath, she finally puts the squirrels in the freezer. Then, she pulls out her journal and flips it open. There's a shy smile on her face as she looks at the camera.]
I'm twenty today. And I think I'd like to celebrate.
What would you recommend?
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