it is all the same [pierre]

There has been an envelope through the door every week. An invitation to the Hunger Games museum, an archive of every Hope taken by the games. It is heart breaking enough for Pierre to visit the graves so he has been putting off vising the so-called realistic versions of his daughters.

Except what makes today the day?

Everything is just the same in his house, he kisses his wife a goodbye on the lips. His adult son is nowhere to be seen, not that it is any different. Everyone has just moved on. Full years have ticked by, he has been a mayor for nearly ten years now. A literal decade.

Except no thought has changed in his mind

Lily. Paige. Eva.

Each of them lost adolescence. They lost their first kiss. They lost becoming adults like their brother.

Pierre has not just lost three daughters. He has lost the chance of possibly ever seeing grandchildren. He has lost attending graduation days. Wedding days and Ripred baptisms. But nobody talks about that. His daughters are lost in time. Forever teenagers.

He takes the longest route to the justice building that morning. The longest possible route from the mayor’s house that literally neighbours the building.

He takes an old route. A route he has only since stepped on while on official business. Not a path that the he has walked since shutting up the tailor’s shop and handing over the keys to the youthful new businesswoman.

The air is fresh, spring is ready to beat away any winter depression. He can enjoy working again, no supply worries. Less sickness and the children can be let out to play.

Pierre is here on memory lane, outside the old little house that he and his wife dreamt up a future together. Everything seemed to work, even if the house had a little bit of a leak. A new family is blessed within its walls now and he stands a distance from it. All he can do is smile at its rejuvenation. New lives thriving inside of his dream, it is all he can wish for.

This is the last house that his daughters lived in. Each reaping morning, they all walked together through the brown wooden door. They spent the morning around the old oak table, feasting on Abi’s breakfast delights.

He slips his hands into his trouser pockets, carrying on with his journey. He is not dressed like a mayor today. Everything plain. Everything modest. No suit, just a grey woollen jumper and ivory shirt to keep away the bitter breeze that still lingers. His face is trimmed for the season ahead but the hair on his temple needs to catch on its bi-monthly maintenance. Everything seems to be aging now, grey marches across the back of his cranium and the wrinkles under his eyes have made their home. Ten long years are beginning to show…

Everyone at the justice building’s entrance is surprised to see him. ”We are not expecting to see you here today, Mayor Hope.” He simply replies by hiding over the invitation letter. There is no smile. There is no nod. ”It is time for you to take me to it.”

Each step to the exhibition room seems like a marathon. Questions float around in his head

Should I have dressed nicer?

Should I have brought gifts?

They are not real Pierre!

He questions whether he should have snuck a pouring of whiskey in his coffee this morning. There is no turning back now, enough people know of his intentions now.

The room is so small, no decorations but the projector that lights up half of it. There is no chair for Pierre to sit on, just a square foot of space for him to stand. He wonders if they will all even fit in or if they will show them one by one…

It takes time for anything to happen, a weak blue light flickers and something kicks in.

Lily. Paige. Eva.

They are all there.
Nothing happens inside of him. Just his eyes adjust to the realism of each of them. Their heights the same as when he left them in the justice building so many years ago. None of them aged. Everything is the same.

Pierre drops to his knees; he is nearly the same height as the twins except Paige is clearly a little taller than Lily. He just hopes nobody can see the emotions on his face right now as he surrenders to the tears. ”You…you are all here!”