Dreams of Winter Butterflies//Ella

[ali]

☾ Twilight Messer ☾ Twilight Messer could feel the sun on her face- its warmth radiating against her pale skin- in the cold winters morning. Ice and snow had been bought to the District from the north; flurries of snow had been intermittent the last few days but today the snow had paused to let some sun shine upon the District. The icicles had begun to thaw, dripping on Twilight’s head, in the morning sunlight; trickling droplets ran down the daggers of ice as the world began to warm. The young girl hoped spring would be on its way and so that she could hear once again the sounds of the birds in the trees- something she dearly missed during the harsh winter months. The blind girl sighed and imagined the colour of the sky that hung lazily above her head. She imagined swirls of blue and white as clouds passed the great abyss, occasionally she saw flashes of yellow in the sky; from what she could remember, that yellow was probably the sun but was probably not as vibrant as she envisioned inside her head. It had been a long time since she had seen the sky, but she remembered it being colourful. She remembered reds and oranges as the sun rose over the hills in the north, she remembered how from the vibrant yellows and reds-that mixed together as if they were watercolours painted onto a canvas- faded quickly to deep shades of purple, navy and shades of black when the sun had disappeared completely behind the hills. She remember the droplets of stars that hung in the empty blackness above her at night and she remembers the moon and its smiling face; it was always smiling even when the world was not. Though, she would never see that smile again. *** The Messer house once backed onto a large open field before it was built upon for more housing and commercial developments 5 years ago but when the children were young and it was warm enough to go and play; they would often spend hours upon end in the long grass that grew behind their house. They would wake up at dawn and leave the house as soon as they could and then not return until dusk had set in and the moon had begun to peer over the hills. The two would often return with scratches from their adventures in the grass, the plants were not too favouring towards human contact. One day, however, Twilight found herself playing alone. Her sister was nearly 18 and she had gotten a job at a local factory packing up gadgets and parts of gadgets to be sent off to the far off places of the other Districts and the Capitol. As she watched her older sister walk off down the path once more in the early hours of the morning, rather than joining Twilight to rush out the back door and into their own little world, she sighed and realized that she would be alone again. Her father was busy at work; her mother was asleep from her shift so there was no one she could play with. So she would have to play by herself. Jumping off the window sill, Twilight hurried to the backdoor were her worn old wellington boots lay. Squeezing them over her feet, the little girl reached for the door handle and slipped out the back door. The grass brushed against her arms as she ran into the depths of the fields, the blue sky hanging aimlessly above her. The smell of forget-me-nots and daisy’s filled the air as the little girl sprinted through the field; slowly coming to a stop in the center. Sitting down, the little girl stared at the sky, listening to the sounds of the bees that buzzed happily between the flowers that grew among the long green grass. A butterfly, with red and orange wings fluttered around Twilight, making her smile. “Hello there” the 5 year old grinned widely as the beautiful creature rested on a blade of grass- its little antenna twitching as its wings stopped moving; the little girl was fascinated by the butterfly’s wings; they seemed so delicate. As soon as it had appeared, the butterfly once again took flight; its wings carrying it towards the sky. Waving at it the little girl called after it smiling “Goodbye!!” *** Opening her eyes, the young blind girl again face the darkness inside her skull. She knew by the sound her boots made against the frozen ground that the snow was not as fresh- it cracked and barked beneath her footsteps- and that it was slowly compacting into ice; it was going to be a long walk to get some ingredients for bread. The streets were quiet today. The young blind girl assumed people were at work or school or somewhere else that Twilight could not go due to her disability. Blowing a hot warm breath past her chapped lips, the young girl crossed the empty street towards the shops; she felt the crack of ice beneath her feet but took nothing of it for it was probably just a puddle that had frozen in the night. After finally finding the door, Twilight pushed it open and stepped inside. The people knew her very well and had accepted the fact she were blind and needed assistance in finding what she needed. As always, the friendly young shop keeper stepped out from behind the counter as Twilight greeted him with much enthusiasm “Good morning Kobe” “Good morning Twilight” the young man smiled with his voice as he slowly took her arm. His grasp was gentle and expected; he always took great care of her when leading her round his shop “What can I get for you today?” “I have some money for bread ingredients… my sister wants to make some in celebration of myself not being reaped this year” ” Twilight spoke as the shopkeeper led her down on of the isle, his arm hair tickling her arm, as she smiled sadly “Not that I think there is much to celebrate” “I agree” Kobe stopped for a moment to pick up some of the things she needed. He then carefully lead her back to the front of the store so she could pay for her things “That’ll be $10” Twilight reached into her coat pocket and latched onto the bill note that sat there. Clutching it, she drew her hand out and held it out in front of her so that Kobe could take the money; she felt the paper bill being edged from her hand and then the sound of the till dinging which was a good sign. It meant she had enough. There was the rustling of a paper bag and she heard Kobe making his way round the counter to her before placing the shopping in her arms as if it were a new born baby. Twilight smiled as he helped her towards the door. “There you go Twilight” Kobe carefully let go of her arm and held the door open for her “I put some poppy seeds in there as a bonus…have a nice day” Twilight’s face warmed with glee “Thank you Kobe, speak to you soon!” As the door close behind her, Twilight could feel gentle kiss of snowflakes on her face; it had begun to snow again. It had grown colder and the wind had started up again, biting and scratching at her face as she crossed the street again. The tips of her fingers grew cold as she hurried towards her house across the street; her fingerless gloves were not very useful in this weather but it was all she could afford. Perhaps she was hurrying too fast when she walked across a patch of ice that had grown on the road during the night because she suddenly found herself losing her footing and falling into nothingness. It was a long way to the ground; or so it felt that way. Twilight gasped as she tumbled into the darkness, the bag of bread ingredients fell from her hands as she crashed against the asphalt. The deep breath the young girl hand just inhaled was expelled out of her as her chest smashed against the ground. Her face grazed against the floor and a sharp pain shot up her arm; it wasn’t painful enough to be broken but it still hurt. The blind girl lay there for a few moments, gasping like a fish out of water; drowning on oxygen. The fall had winded her, she felt a bit lost for a few moments; lost in the void. Wordcount☾1,432

[Ella]

I ' M  N O T  A S  L I T T L E  A S  Y O U  M A Y  T H I N K  I  A M

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ALTHEA LEITNER
DISTRICT3 | TWELVE | FEMALE

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I walk through the polluted, smelly streets of District 3. It smells like rotten eggs... as always. I would love a rotten egg right now. At that thought, my skinny stomach rumbles. Why couldn't I live in like, District 1 or 2 or 4?

(Because your a sweet girl, unlike those bratty careers.) I don't have to be sweet. I could fit in with them if I tried.

(That's a bad thing, not good. It's not worth it.) Sometimes it is. But we just had to be right in the middle. Between them. Most people from 3 have food, enough to live on at least. For me though, I live on the poor part of three. Not fun. Always hungry and no rest. Some people may like that, but definitely not me.

Suddenly I feel a little pinch of cold on my arm. Snow. Finally! I've been waiting all Winter for this. Why can't it snow everyday? Or at least as much as it does rain? The sun pokes out behind a large, puffy, white cloud. Whiter then the snow falling down from it. The sun beams down a tad of warmness towards me, as if I was the only living thing out that needed brightening. I'm not sure if that's a bad or good thing, though. The sky is as blue as the ocean, or so I've heard. It's only covered slightly on this beautiful day.

Spring vs. Winter. I like both. Equally. Everything is equal no matter how different. Winter and Spring have many differences, but they're like in some ways. I hope Spring comes soon, yet I don't want Winter to end. There's a blanket of pristine white snow covering the vibrant green grass and all the lies and ugliness in Winter. The vibrant green grass is covered in a rainbow full of flowers in Spring, though.

(Almost as beautiful as you) That's what dad would always say. I know he thought he meant it. He didn't, though. I'm not nearly as beautiful as anything that nature has to offer. Nothing is, except other nature.

The snow abruptly stops, breaking me out of my trance. No more snow. A frown falls across my pale face as I glance around. Not much has fallen. Yet. There are some ice patches, though. Probably from last night. The first time it snows... almost everybody is asleep! Ugh. Ah... oh well. It snowed again, doesn't matter much that we missed the first time as long as we experienced it. I think I'm the only one out, though. It's as silent as it must be... in the sky. Full of peace. Probably won't last long, though. Soon enough somebody will come out.

The puffy cloud sitting above me walks over a little bit, completely covering the sun from my innocent green eyes and causing mild darkness to fall over me, removing my small shadow from the world. The light is just inches away, yet I don't want to move. I need a break from the sun. It will prepare me for no sun. It'll happen soon. I just know it. When I'm a tribute. The sun will be an illusion, not the real thing. I need to prepare myself.

(But you need to use it while you still have it, Al.) Al. Nobody's called me that in years. Hm. I need to prepare myself... by using it?

(You might not even go to the arena, so just use it.) Everybody goes into the arena. Or something like it, at least. Even the Capitol. Though they have 0 chance of going into the actual arena other then visiting. Those monsters.

Boom!  I hear a thud, not to far away from where my feet stay rooted. I hear a gasp and walk towards the loud sound. A girl falls by slipping on a puddle of ice. Geez, she needs to look where she's going. Bread. That luxury, "bread," comes tumbling out of her bag. My already large eyes widen a bit as I "silently" run over to her. 

Oh. My. God. My stomach rumbles again at the sight and my small, pale hand reaches out to grab a piece. Not too much. No. Just a little, she needs some too. I break off a little piece of the already-small piece of bread and throw it into my hungry mouth. Not much flavor, no, but enough. It's so good. One more piece.

(No. Don't be a thief like others.) But I'm hungry!  I rip off another piece, slightly larger, and throw it into my mouth. Okay, that was the last. Last piece. No more.

Chew. Swallow. The two steps. I can't always remember them. After doing both, I put it back into the bag and check her over. She seems okay. Just got the wind knocked out of her. I've done that before. It feels like you broke everything, but really, it's absolutely nothing. Maybe a bruise or such. But we've all gotten our share of those, right?

I set the bag on her soft shirt and step back a little bit. I push myself up, craving for more bread. NO! I can't take more endless she offers it to me. Which, she probably won't. I think I recognize her from school. She's the blind girl! Right. I forget her name, though. Taylor? Theresa? Tale? Twaine? Something along the lines of those. I know it starts with the letter T.

I push a long strand of chocolatey brown hair out of my forest green eyes and stand up, stretching my arms a bit. She won't notice the bread. Hopefully. I don't need to get in trouble by the peacekeepers... they're strict. They should just die. One by one slowly and painfully like they do to all those poor people who break the law. It's not their fault we live in Panem.  And in a district. It's God's fault. Or their parents. Whatever, either way, it's not their fault. The only thing they did was break those dumb laws. And whipping is to harsh in my opinion. Even for the worst of law-breakers.

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Wordcount] 1008