62nd Reaping [D10]

It was like time stood still. Like she was frozen in space and the only thing she could do was stand there, stunned and shocked. She couldn't breath, she couldn't move. All she could do was stand. It was indescribable feeling. Not horror, not fear, just disbelief. It lasted for close to two minutes, but to her it seemed like it was even faster, like the moment was there and gone again. It went as quickly as it came, that last moment of peace. And when it was gone a new feeling came over her. Fear.

Lydie Mansonna had dreaded the Games from the time she first watched them on the old, cracked screen of her broken down television, to that moment when her name was spoken into the microphone.

She stilled remembered how that morning had gone. Waking up early, getting dressed, eating a small breakfast. She was afraid that if she ate too much, she might puke on her dress. Then she had gone up to Emily's room to help her with her clothes and feed her breakfast. It was hard helping Emily into the dress since she could barely hold herself up. Emily was always sick and she was going through a particularly hard time lately. After Emily ate, Lydie helped her out of her bed and brought her downstairs to the couch so when it was time to leave she would be ready. May had come downstairs ate that point, wearing some pink number that she had begged to wear. May wasn't quite old enough for the Games yet, but she was getting there. The rest of the time before the Reapings was spent comforting May, helping Emily, and then finally walking to the town's square.

It was a few minutes before Lydie realized that people were staring at her. She started to walk towards the stage. She could hear May start to ask her mother, "Why's Lydie going up there?" When their mother didn't answer she asked louder, "Why mom? Why?" Lydie knew May was starting to panic. As Lydie walked she started to hear crying. She knew at once that it was Emily. She had heard that sound before. It's amazing how things as simple as sounds can make you feel like your dying inside.

Lydie reached the stage and, as if in a daze, climbed the steps. Now she could see the faces of everyone in the crowd. They were staring at her, watching her. She hated that. She hated being watched, like she was no more than a specimen trapped in a jar. She saw May, screaming at her mother now, and sobbing harder than a nine year old ever should. She could see her mother, holding May tight. Lydie knew her mother was trying to imagine all the ways that her baby was going to die, so that when they happened she might not feel as broken inside. She could see her older sister Emily, always the weak, brainy one, trying not to faint, but finally giving up and collapsing. And she could see John, the oldest sibling of the family, catching Emily in his arms. He was so accustomed to having to catch her, that he could do it while still looking at Lydie.

Lydie didn't know what John could be feeling. The rest of the family would be feeling sorrow and despair, she was sure. But this was John's last year of Reapings. After this, he was out. Home-free. She guessed that he was relieved. Sad, yes, but mostly relieved. She didn't blame him.

Lydie sat there, looking at her family and friends. She half-wished that someone would volunteer for her, but she knew that would never happen. May was too young, Emily was too weak to even get on the train to the Capitol, and John was almost the sole provider for the family. He couldn't abandon them. Lydie was going into the Games. Lydie was going to die. She looked up into the clear, blue sky, and with tears in her eyes she whispered, "Please God, make it fast."

OOC: Lydie Mansonna accepts.