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four years later ...
I wake up from the sounds of my own screaming again. I sit upright and recall what the healer told me about breathing techniques and follow their soothing instructions replaying in my head. In through your nose, out through your mouth they say, and I do so like an obedient child. On breath number 40, Rowena gently pushes the door open, then enters.
Rowena is probably one of my favourite people, other than Dom. She's my best friend and my twin brother's girlfriend, so we are very, very close. Dominic used to be the responsible one, but since he's been given the chance to stay in school while I work to keep the two of us fed, he became a bit of a flirt. Hence the girlfriend, most likely to be a wife soon unless he wants to live in scandal.
She's already dressed up - her hair's pulled back into a neat bun, and she's wearing a silky, cream dress with just enough ruffles to hide her growing baby bump. She's only three months or so along, so if you didn't know better, she'd look perfectly normal in anything reasonably loose. Just me, Dom and her know so far, mainly because children out of wedlock would be horrendous - neither would be able to get married to anyone else, move out, or find a job with such a stain on their names. I know for a fact Dom's organizing something special, most likely an engagement with what's going on. She smiles warmly and dives into my wardrobe to find something stylish to wear for the reaping.
I cautiously exit my castle of covers and head to the washroom to take a bath. I prepared the tub last night, so undestandly it was absolutely freezing by the time I slid into it. The coolness was refreshing, though, since it's midsummer and no one is cold. Once I dry myself and re-enter the room, Rowena has laid out a dress and heels for me and is waiting patiently for my return.
I button up the dress carefully - it looks antique - and stand in front of the dirty full-length mirror. Rowena grasps a brush in her dominant hand, which she brings up to brush and style my hair. She's magic at that kind of thing, and now I realise how lucky I am Rowena makes my hair beautiful each day. She grabs a black ribbon and wraps my hair with it to create a perfect ponytail. Another quick brush through, heels on, then we're good to go. We can't afford breakfast anyways - we can save up the money for that for something special in a few weeks when I get my pay. "You look stunning, Dakota." Even her voice somehow sounds neat.
