ines duval. nine.

ines duval;

The thing is, she'd been planning her one way ticket out of District Nine for as long as she can remember.

Not me, I don't mean, no, not really at least. I mean Holly. She was always planning on running. As far back as I can remember, she used to whisper herself tall tales about the different worlds that existed beyond the edges of District Nine, beyond the edges of the Capitol, beyond the edges of Panem itself. It only got worse once Mom started sending us to school on Saturdays, too; then she had somewhere to dream about. Africa, land of legend, probably, maybe, who really knows. Not me — but Holly thought she did.

She wanted me to go with her.

"It'll be an adventure," she'd say, putting her hands on my shoulders and grinning wider than anything else ever made her did. "We'll see the sea!"

It was kind of her, she thought. Inviting me. Holly wanted me to see the world.

But I've never been any good at leaving things behind. I used to try, because it seemed like she wanted me to. I'd give up on friendships, would watch relationships fall away from me for fear of how disappointed she'd be when she found out that I'd put down more roots here in Nine. It always left me feeling fragmented though, like little seeds of me abandoned, parts of me just waiting to grow.

Now, whenever I see her in my head, it's with a duffle bag slug over her shoulder, leaving.

She never did look back.