The 'Flower of Panem' or 'The Angel of Mercy', Seraphine Reza is the jewel and pride of Panem. One of their most treasured victors in the history of the Hunger Games and a favorite of President Snow.
While she smiles, comforts and plays her part ev...
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Talissa pushed the old rusted door of their home open and held it open for Sera who was lost in another one of her daydreams, listening to the whispers that only she could hear. Her eyes were hazy and unfocused as bees buzzed passed the two sisters, one settling on her shoulders.
Sera ignored the bee for a moment, to take in the appearance of her home. She didn't know when the last time would come where she would never see the plain gray concrete outer walls again. It was only a matter of time before they moved to the new house that was awarded or assigned to her for 'winning' the games in the victors' village.
Their family home was a mere small block of concrete shell crammed between other concrete shells that most from their district called home.
In the past, this area used to be sets of storage for the plants nearby but as those were plants shut down and moved further into the mountains and the former woodlands, these naturally became homes to many. The place became known as 'the Hollow'. Perhaps it was because these were simple shells of concrete made pre-war used for storage or maybe it was just a random name. Sera didn't know but the name had stuck around.
It wasn't as pretty or comfortable as the homes in the 'Lux' or the victors' village that would soon be her home but it was the home where she was born, where she lived her whole life so far. This was where her parents had lived and died. She couldn't complain, living in the Hollow was miles better than the 'Slog'.
There was nothing there but half-rusted compact metal containers stacked upon each other mimicking those luxurious tall apartment buildings of the Lux or the Capitol. There was barely any space for anyone to live or walk. The ones who worked there were all the low-level laborers at the plants who took what job they could to earn enough to get by. Still it was better than some districts, she thought.
Her sister had paused in the threshold of their home and turned to see her watching the bee on her shoulder. She frowned and tugged at Sera's shirt, waking her up from her daydream. "Sera? Don't stand there. You're going to catch a cold."
Her older sister unwrapped an old frayed and faded orange woolen scarf from her neck. She wrapped the scarf around her younger sister's neck, making sure she was warm enough before stepping back and carefully smiling but her smile didn't reach her eyes. Sera mirrored her smile.
"Come on, let's go in. Everyone's waiting for us." She led Sera in the door and then pushed the door close behind her.
Wordlessly, Sera dragged herself into the concrete shell that they called 'home'. She paused in the entrance while Talissa went around her back and locked the door shut. The entrance to the living room had cloth bundles dotted around randomly, containing the family's most prized objects and clothes that they wanted to take with them when they finally moved.
"You're not done packing?" Sera asked, turning to look at her sister who was removing her light autumn cardigan. Her sister shook her head and let out a sigh. She hobbled in her step trying to take off her outside shoes and replace them with her worn out home shoes. "It's fine. Aunt Dahlia told me everyone was informed of the move last minute." She removed her light coat and passed the scarf to her sister before maneuvering through the bundles to get to the living room.
