Charity [Wilson], District 5

Charity looks like a skinny carrot--her head of red hair can be spotted a mile away. She always wears her hair in a neat ponytail. She has cheerful blue eyes the color of robin's egg. A spray of freckles cover her small nose and cheekbones. Her teeth aren't straightened and will never be.

Charity is tall and skinny--not slender, not thin. Just really really skinny. Her limbs are long but graceful in a way. Charity has strong legs from running often. Her arms aren't as strong, but they possess an elegance in movement.

Charity is alone in this world, but she's still very cheery. She doesn't have any best friends, but people know her and like her.

Her actions shout louder than any of her words ever will. Something is invisibly wrong with her vocal chords--she can't speak, but none of the many doctors that have examined her have found issues. Charity speaks with a sign language to her friend, a boy named William Wilson, with whom she lives and thinks of as a brother. He then translates for her. When he's not present, she communicates through writing on a little notepad that William got for her.

Charity always has a smile on her face. She works well with animals--they can communicate without the troubles of sign language or writing. Although she wouldn't admit that she picks favorites, she's more comfortable caring for and being with the cattle--especially the baby calves. While other teens her age race about on horses, she rides on her cows--in fact, she's one of the only people the cows let ride.

She's an only child, and she lives with the family of the kind woman who brought her up, the director of the orphanage, Susan Wilson, who was orphaned as a child, as well. The family includes Susan and her husband, Victor, and their four children: Ryan, William, Christian, and Myrrh.

Charity spends most of her time with William, who is her age. Myrrh is a good companion, too--in fact, it was Myrrh who gave her the nickname, Cherry, when she couldn't pronounce 'Charity' correctly, but Charity is nearly 7 years older than Myrrh. Ryan is usually out of the house, breaking wild horses with his friends, and Christian spends most of his time with his books.

Charity doesn't know her real name. She didn't know her parents. She was orphaned nearly as soon as she was born. There's great mystery surrounding her early years--some people speculate that her parents ran to District 13, some suppose that they were killed in rebellion, some believe they're avoxes, some think that they were just plain nobodies... Cherry herself doesn't know and doesn't really want to know. She likes living with the Wilsons and can't imagine another life.

Cherry wasn't always voiceless. Once upon a time, she spoke. She is remembered to have the most beautiful singing voice in the District.

One day, when William was trying to teach her to ride bareback on a horse, an accident occurred. She lost control and the horse zipped off. Frightened, Cherry yelped and lost her grip on the reins, slipping sideways and bringing the horse down on top of her. Though no bones were broken, the scare rid her of her tinkling voice, as well as her love of horses. Her sudden silence is yet another mystery about which the people of the District to contemplate and gossip.