nina ward \\ d3 \\ [fin] [cb1/3]

nina ward female twelve district 3

"Hush little baby don't say a word,"

There is a secret. A secret that I know, that I can't tell. Not like the secret that my teddy bear told me last night about the cookies hidden on the top shelf of the pantry or the one that my friend Alice told me yesterday about our teacher's collection of Klaus pictures. This secret is a real secret. The kind that actually has to be kept secret.

"Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird."

I read my books and sing myself lullabies to keep the monsters from coming. It's a story I've told myself since I learned the secret, a nightmare I've had since I learned that she was my sister. ("If I tell, bad things will happen. If I tell, I have to say goodbye to my family. If I tell, the monsters will come just like they did with Kiena.") I've already told my teddy bear; I can't tell anyone else.

"And if that mockingbird does sing,"

I wish I was better at lying. Maybe then I wouldn't have to worry about the questions people ask. ("Ward? Like the tribute? You related?") I've taken to shoving cookies into my pockets and taking them to school so that when the questions come, I can eat a cookie instead of answering. Papa always said that it was bad manners to talk with my mouth full.

Problem solved.

"Little baby's gonna end up with nothing."