The Mockingjay Returns

Part 1: Buttercup

The house is silent apart from my wails. I slip out of bed, running away from the nightmares that I had.

"Katniss," Prim had been shouting.
I tried to run towards her but, with every step, she became further away and the Capitol aircraft got closer.
"Prim," I shouted, "I'm coming!"
And then I caught sight of Snow, looking down at me from above...

My tears are flowing faster and faster. With each one comes a haunting of memories from the past year: of Prim, of Finnick, and Peeta being hijacked. All those nightmares have been invading my mind even more than they used to, and it's all because of one man.

I can't go back to bed, not now, so I sit on the kitchen counter and calm myself:
"Deep in the meadow,
Under the willow,
A bed of grass,
A soft green pillow.
Lay down your h-"

I stop. Singing used to make me feel better but now it brings me the opposite effect.

Since the war, I've been alone: Haymitch hasn't come back yet, my mother left to become doctor in another district,
and Peeta is still in the Capitol, recovering.

Peeta... I can't think about him. I've not seen him since the rebellion, and despite it being hard for me to admit, I know that I do miss him.

I wonder what he is thinking at this very moment, over there in the Captiol.

Is he reflecting upon the atrocities of the war? Is he thinking about me?

Probably not. I, the Girl On Fire who started everything, who got Peeta into this whole mess. Why would he spare a thought for me?

My thoughts are interrupted.

"Buttercup?"

I don't know how she got here. She must have come back from 13 by herself. Her coat is covered in dirt and she still has the same squashed in nose as before. It's funny, how when your whole world changes, small things like this remain exactly as they were.

The cat walks cautiously towards me from the window and sits on the kitchen worktop. Then, she looks around expectantly, craning her bony neck. I know who she is looking for.

"She's gone" I say, in the most controlled voice I can.
"Prim is gone, and she's not coming back, you stupid cat!"

That's when the tears return, flooding down my face. I shout other obscenities at Buttercup and, as she begins to walk away, I stop.

"Come here." I call, my voice calmer now.

I hold Buttercup tight in my arms as if it's Her. A soft meow escapes Buttercup's mouth, but I don't listen. I hold on to every piece I have left of Prim whilst silent tears fall down my face.

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Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!  More to come soon!