Woody Marks/ /district 7// fin

Fc: Igor Augusto
Name: Woody Marks

Age: 17

District: 7

I've always loved nature. In a lot of ways, one could say. It all started when my dad took me to cut down my first tree. I was six years old. My brown hair was curly and I still had those baby fat pudge cheeks. My father had been hyping me up for weeks, telling me how good he thought he'd thought I'd be at it, how strong he thought I probably was, how proud he was of me. So when we got to the chopping forest, I was acting exactly how an excited six year old is supposed to act, jumping and screaming and laughing. My dad loved it, thought I could turn that energy into my axe swings. As soon as I saw the tree I was supposed to cut down though, that all changed. It was beautiful. A baby oak. In my mind, it's leaves were the beautiful mane of a goddess and it trunk, the body. I couldn't knock it down not with the life of me. I screamed and cried and refused to cut it down. My father has been disappointed in me ever since.

When I turned thirteen my viewpoint on things... changed. Trees were no longer just a beautiful thing to be admired they were... something else. Okay I guess I'll just come out and say it, I'm a dendrophiliac, meaning I'm sexually attracted to trees. That's right. And yes I'm from district 7, the district that's all about cutting them down. Hilarious. Of course you'd think so. Everyone else thinks so. Everyone I've ever told, anyway. My mom. My dad. My favorite tree. Haha I'm kidding about the last one. Did I tell the tree? Yes. Did it laugh? No, stupid, trees don't laugh. They don't date either. Because of course they don't, they're trees stupid.

Do you know what it's like to always fall in love with the wrong type? To have an unobtainable love? Then welcome to my life. Except, instead of being in love with, I don't fucking know, the head cheerleading team or some shit, I fall in love with a GODDAMN OVERSIZED PLANT!

I tell everyone not in the know that I'm asexual. Which is fine, no one really judges. A number of girls have been disappointed, angry even, when I've had to tell off their advances. Some guys, too. I've been told I'm attractive, with my chiseled chest, from building furniture and climbing trees, and my pretty hair and mouth. If you ask me, I'm not so great. My eyes are too small and scrunched up and my nose is awkwardly placed on my face. But none of that even matters. The only living thing I'd ever want to date has sticks for arms and uses chlorophyll for food.

I get depressed a lot. It's hard not to be when you're a freak like me. My only therapy is tree climbing. It's the closest I can get to romantic satisfaction without straight up fucking a tree. Which, I refuse to do, despite my feelings. I don't want to be a freak and trees can't consent anyway. I'm probably going to end up getting into professional tree climbing when I'm older.

I really do like people. Even if it's not romantically. I've got a few close friends. And loads of acquaintances. I'm generally a pretty friendly guy, however I also do anger quickly when provoked and I have been in a few fights throughout my life. I cry a lot, too. Why? Because I'm only attracted to trees, stupid.

Sometimes I feel like a monster. A huge fucking, rampaging abomination, here to destroy possibilities. The possibility of having had a great relationship with my father, destroyed by my childhood tantrum. Every possibility for romance, pushed away. I see couples, walking down the street all the time. Kissing and laughing and holding each other. What I wouldn't give to have that. I really wish I were asexual, to be completely honest. At least then I wouldn't still feel compelled to physically love. A love that only the rough and sexy bark of a tree could satisfy.

If I were reaped, I think I'd be ok. I'm strong and decently intelligent and I can fight. I'm not very patient though and I'm one of the few able-bodied people in district 7 who can't use an axe well. I'm also kind of slow. But, if I died, what would I really leave behind? A family that's ashamed of me? Some friends who don't know what to do with me? ... A tree?