A District Far Away...

It was rather hot in District 11, my home. I just tought my little sister Sensae how to milk my cow Moone, when i suddenly realized something: someone wanted to contact me. Well, maybe he or she wasn't exactly reffering to a 13 year old girly-girl from one of the poorest outlines of Panem, somehow I really did delt that message was ment for me. The moment Sensae left to go and play woth people from her age I rushes inside to answer this persons message. At times like this I couldn't thank my father enough for giving me writing lessons. I grabbed a piece of paper, ink and a feather and started carving the letters deeply into the paper. "I got you message. I do not know if it was ment for me, but you obviously found my bird, Angel. I hope she didn't snap at you, I'm still teaining her.. Anyway, I am happy to report you your message has fallen to the right hands, well, good hands.. Of you are willing to share it with me, I would really like to know who you are. My name is Gaya, I'm 13 and I live in District 11. Who are you? Well, I guess I will hear that, maybe, hopefully... Bye, a friend." Proud of myself I tied the piece of paper to Angels ribbon and sent her off. I didn't know where she was going, I didn't know when she would come back, I just knew something was about to happen.

Days passed and I was wondering if Angel would ever come back to me. Then, on a Wednsday evening, when I was singing my little sisters and brother to sleep, Angel joined us and finished my lullaby with a soft "rookoo". I gave my siblings a gentle, soft goodnight kiss on their forheads. They were already asleep, and I didn't want to wake them. I blew out the candle and took Angel on my arm outside. As soon as I finished reading I looked at the sky and sighed. 'I want to meet you, why are you so far away?' I closed my eyes for a second and gave Moone a pet on the back. I realized all of the hard work Angel was giving and I hadn't even treated her! I snook some corn from the bag my brothers brought from the ochards and gave it to her. I felt like she was smiling at me when she looked me in the eyes. 'Thank you.', I whispered to her. I took my ink and feather, ready to share some more of my information and questions fith this person in a District far away. "Hi Oswalt," I stopped to say his name out loud. 'Oswalt, so silly.' Maybe it wasn't a silly name in District 12, but here, in 11, it's a name that actually no-one has. I got lost in my memories, until I noticed a piece of paper, craving for me to write on it, so I continued. "Hi, Oswalt, nice to meet you. I actually have a question; what did your first message mean? Did it really have a meaning? Or was it just a slogan to get in contact with whoever would've found your letter? I do not have much time, nor much to say. So I will just leave it with this. Goodbye, Gaya." With another corn treat and the letter carefully attached to her ribbon, I waved Angel goodbye, watching how her bright, white wings vanished behind the tops of the trees.

I didn't have time to worry about Angel coming back with another message, I had a lot of other things to keep myself busy. My sister Rya got sick, and she also passed it to my other sister Janiqua, poor little Janiqua, four years old, living in this misery. I felt so bad for her. After giving both of them yet another spoon of cough syrup I made myself I tugged them in and sang a song for them like I always do when they go to sleep. I blew out the candle, 'Just try to go to sleep you two.' I told them. 'I don't want to.' Rya protested. It's what she always does; when people tell her what to do, she always refuses. I see a lot of my father in her. I sighed. 'You just have to, or don't you want to get better?' Although Rya was only two years younger then me, I still treated her like a little kid. She never protested to that, so I guess she likes it. 'But Gaya, what if you need me? What if something happens?' with all of the effort trying to sound like a hero she started coughing like a maniac. I opened on of the curtains and sat down on her part of the bed. 'Shh, shh...' was what I said and gently forced her to lie down. I wiped some hair out of her face. 'It's gonna be alright, just go to sleep, okay?' Finally she agreed with me. I pulled the blankies further up to her chin, giving her a kiss on her forhead. 'Jannie?' I whispered. 'Yes?' she replied, with a weak voice. I broke inside. Tears came to my eyes just hearing her voice. 'You try to sleep too, okay?' I saw her nod. 'Could you come here?' she asked me. I immediatly walked to the other side of the bed. 'What is it, sweety?' I asked, kneeling down so I could look her in the eyes. 'Will you stay here with me?' The way she said it just hurted me too bad. A tear ran down my face. I searched for her hand and held onto it tightly. 'Of course I will stay here.' I said, trying to hide the fact I was crying. I started humming a song my parent always sang for me when I was sick. I watched as both of their eyes closed and their breathing became steady and repeatedly the same; I knew they were safe, I knew they were asleep. As soft as possible I stood up, closed the opened curtain again and left to go to my dad's writing room, where I was happy to find Angel. 'Back with another message, I see.' I said, half smiling, half crying. I stopped several times while I was reading. 'If one of us gets Reaped.' I said out loud. I shivered. The Reaping, it wasn't that far away, just two, maybe three days and two innocent people would be pulled away from their families to fight to the death... "Dear Oswalt, you awakened me there, when you started about the Reaping. It isn't that far away anymore, is it? I really don't want you to get chosen. I am the only one that could be Reaped in my family. I'm thirteen. My older brother Xander is 20, my brothers Kae and Fredrick are both 19, since they are twins. Then you have me... The eldest of the youngest four, Rya, is 11. The youngest boy, Lenny, is 10. My little sister Sensae is 6 and the youngest of us all, Janiqua, is 4. Rya and Janiqua are both ill now. I feel so sorry for them. Why them? Rya is able to handle it, she's older and stronger, but Janiqua... Any illness could kill her. She's so little and weak and vulnerable. Angel reminded me so much of her, that's why I couldn't resist to take Angel home. And it wasn't a wrong dicision, was it? I do the best I can to keep everything on track and going, but life's not easy.. Have you got many siblings? Do you have any, actually...? And yeah, I would really want to meet you, but I certainly do not want to see you on a big screen sitting next to an interviewer in the Capitol. We can't sneak out of our Districts. Too dangerous... You also can't because of the high-voltage fences, but if we could... No, we would get caught, they would cut out our tongues or worse. Well, I'll hear from you, I guess. Yours truly, Gaya." I couldn't help but crying writing that letter, just thinking about the probable death of my little sister was killing me. I checked Angels health, because losing her wasn't an option either. I kept petting her untill I noticed her urge to fly. I smiled through me tears as I watched her go, sitting on the windowsill, whispering: 'Bye.'

Rya was recovering quicker then anybody imagined, but where Rya was getting better, Janiqua's state was getting worse. She got sicker and sicker everyday, and everybody around me was telling me she wasn't gonna make spring, yet I refused to believe it. It was awfully quiet on the streets, but it was winter, so there wasn't much to do on the ochards or fields. I spent every possible minute with Jannie, trying to make her feel comfortable. I've never seen one of my brothers cry, and I especially did not expect it from Xander, but one night he just broke. He saw Jannie more like a daughter then a sister, just like I do with all of my younger siblings, my brothers were my brothers... Xander was willing to collect some wood to close the windows all around the house, so none of the winter cold could sneak into the house and make anybody else ill. My parents didn't seem to care as much as the rest of my siblings did. Sometimes I equal them with the Caoitol people: cold and heartless. Their daughter could die! And eversince Janiqua got sick they didn't look at her anymore. Did they already give up hope on her? Just the thought of it made me furious. As the snowflakes came down I saw anoter white spit coming from the sky, a white spot with a blue ribbon. Angel. 'Hi.' I said when she landed on my arm. 'How was your trip?' I looked at her leg, there was more then just a piece of paper dangling there, it was a little glass bottle. It was the first thing I released from the blue shread of clothing. 'Medicine?' I asked myself out loud. I took Oswalts letter. 'It really is medicine...' I couldn't stop smiling and I looked at the sky. 'Thank you..' I attatched the medicine to the white ribbon around my waist. My hair was dancing in the wind after I thanked him; like it was a sign from him, saying "no problem". I went home, checking all the time if the medicine was still there. Finally home I gave some of the medicine to Jannie, praying that she would be getting better tomorrow. As usual I locked myself in the writing room and started with my flawless pick-up line: "Hi, Oswalt. I can't thank you enough for your generous gift! You could save Jannies life, and I thank you for that. I owe you my life right now. My parents don't seem to care, though. It's like they have abandoned her. I can't even look then in the eyes, so I haven't eversince Jannie got sick. They remind me of the Capitol sometimes. My parents, I mean. Talkin about the Capitol, tomorrow is the Reaping, are you ready for it? It's really a stupid thing: root fir uou favorite, cry when they die, just sick! I'm sorry, I hate it... All three of my brothers are lucky bastards, they went six years without getting Reaped. I hope that will happen to Rya, Lenny, Sensae and Jannie too when they get older. I wouldn't mind if I got picked. Nobody would care if my head would be cut off by a stupid Career. My family doesn't need me, why would they? We are with eight children! My parents obviously wouldn't give a damn if one if two of them died. People in District 11 can be harsh, but I never expected my parents to be like that. Take last month: there was a baby girl born a few cottages away from mine. She was killed probably directly after her birth, just because she was a girl! Sick people. She didn't even have a name, her parents were too lazy to bury her, so I did. Alone. I buried her under the cherry blossom tree close to the lake, and I named her, she deserved a life, and she was born in the morning, so I named her Dawn. I do that with pretty much all the murdured children around here. But anyway, I guess I'm waisting your time here, so goodbye. And may the odds be ever in your favor." I was quite happy when I re-read the letter. I followed Angel ad the became equal to the falling snowflakes, hoping that neither of us would become a piece of their stupid Games.