Chapter 44

Katniss

After Ruth, I wander around thirteen again. "Katniss," I turn to see Gale smirking at me, a friendly look on his face. A feeling of relief floods over me when I see him. The slight feeling of happiness that I used to get when we hunt in the woods flutters into me for a split second. But this feeling is not even close to the one I get with Peeta. That's how I know it's him I love, not Gale.

"Hi," I say. He walks over to me and wraps his muscular arms around me. At first I pull back, shocked at his actions. But I loosen up and bury my face in his chest. It's nice to smell Gale's scent again. He smells like the woods, which gives me a sense of comfort.

Gale pulls away from our hug, awkwardly as if he wished he could take it back. We stand in silence for a few seconds. "Do you want to hunt?" he finally asks. I look up, adrenaline beginning to rush through me. Now that he's said it, it's all I want to do. To breath fresh, outside air. And in the woods, with my bow, hunting with Gale again. I haven't done that in at least a year. I think back to the day of the Reaping. Our one last great moment together in the woods. After Peeta and I won the Games it wasn't the same. Instead of joy, awkwardness took its place. And we fought more, too. And then Prim died. . .

"Yes," I say. He nods and smiles, fixing his eyes on a random spot on the wall. "Do we have to tell someone?"

"I have a pass that let's me have three hours a day outside. No one said I couldn't bring a guest," he says, shrugging. I laugh a real laugh. Not the fake one I frequently used for cameras, and sometimes even with Gale. Only three people could bring me to laugh like that. Peeta, Gale, and Ruth.

Prim used to be able to, but I know she never will now. I will never be able to hear her laugh or see her blouse hanging out of her skirt. I'd never hear her 'quack' again when I'd call her little duck. I never will call her that again.

"Let's go then," I say. Gale leads me to an exit I didn't know about before. I'm slightly worried the guards won't let me go outside with Gale, but they let us through without a problem. I take a deep breath of the sweet smelling air. I close my eyes and let the wind blow softly through my dark hair.

"C'mon. I have somewhere to show you," Gale says, motioning for me to follow him. I nod and listen carefully to every sound. The birds, the leaves, and the twigs crunching underneath our feet. The soft rustling sound of the trees. The sounds and the smells bring me back home, where we were 'starving to death in safety'.

That is, until the 74th Games. They changed everything completely. Not even just the Games. The berries changed everything.

What would have happened if Gale volunteered for Peeta at the Reaping? I would have never talked to Peeta. Gale would probably be dead. Maybe I would even be dead. I don't think I'd have watched Rue died. Not if Gale was my ally. I tell myself that I would have done the berry stunt with Gale too, but I'm not sure I would have. I love Gale. I love him as a friend, but never in the way I felt for Peeta. Maybe if the Games hadn't happened, things could have been different. But they aren't. And the Games did happen. There is no way to change that.

I gasp at the sight displayed in front of me. A perfect sized pond stretched out across a wide portion of land. Trees sway dreamily in the wind. A few flowers grow a few feet away from Gale and I. Beautiful, green bushes surrounded the pond. A rock structure stands tall on the other side. I walk slowly towards the water and bend down. These flowers that are growing here are not just flowers; Primrose. 

I pluck one from a stem and hold it in my hand, as if it was a part of Prim. As if all of these little yellow flowers are a part of her. I didn't noticed that a tear had dropped from my eye. Gale stands awkwardly beside me, tossing stones into the pond. I swallow and wipe away the tear.

I stand and look out across the water. "It's beautiful," I whisper.

Gale nods and skips another rock. It makes seemingly never-ending circles in the water.

"Oh, here," Gale says. He walks over to a large tree with a huge trunk and pulls out a beautiful bow and sheath of arrows.

"Oh my god. . .Gale!" I gasp. I take the bow from his hands carefully and run my fingers over the smooth carvings. "Did you make this?"

"With help from a few people here. They helped me design the carvings. I sanded it and carved it. They gave me the arrows. And they aren't fancy, like Beetee's. Just regular arrows," he says.

"Thank you," I whisper. I hug him with one arm, the other grasping my bow. It's a caramel colored wood with intricate designs covering it. I pull back the string. It's perfect. Not too hard or easy to pull back.

"Now we can really hunt," Gale says. I smile and nod. He hands me the sheath of arrows and I hang the strap on my shoulder. He pulls another bow and arrows from a nearby log. They look similar to mine, except his bow looks slightly bigger and a lot less intricate.

"Come on. I know a perfect place," he says. I smile again, and we walk into the woods. It almost feels like things are normal again.