don't pass me by {patricia&zelda}
Feb 11, 2022 20:08:01 GMT -5
Post by rook on Feb 11, 2022 20:08:01 GMT -5
patricia jane valfierno
♕
Since the founding of the district, the people of Five have been harnessing the power of water to light up Panem and heat their homes. Initially it was just mills and rotational pumps that were used, crude and rudimentary in design, but functional all the same. It wasn't until a decade after the rebellion, with the construction of the hydrodam, that the brute force of the water was then converted into pure and clean electricity. The dam is central to everything in Five. It maintains a decent standard of living for people who rely on it's electricity, whilst also providing the largest number of jobs in the district, with a huge workforce of several thousand and even it's own union. A union I'm proud to be a rep for.
I didn't think I'd ever be someone who has a job. Not before when I lived on the streets, and certainly not after I came home from the arena. But here I am, standing with my sleeves rolled up in a grey workman's jumpsuit, wrestling with a burst valve down in a draft tube - Working for a living with the stench of stale water in my nostrils and working up a sweat for meagre pay that I don't even need.
For years I shut myself away in that house, fighting ghosts, sitting alone, hating myself. There was a time, a long time, where I thought that was what my life was going to be for the duration. I was fine with that though, it was my burden, my reward for what I had to do. I isolated myself because attachment is something I wasn't permitted.
When the burdens got heavier, the threats more real, the abuse more physical, I lost all control. Unbreakable Patricia Valfierno, reduced to a sobbing, violated mess.
It wasn't until Snow died that they stopped caring about me. They actually let me live my life.
I got better. I'm happy now. I can breathe again.
I'm me.
Community has become important in my life, I've come to depend on these people. My crops sell well at the farmers market, not because of who I am but because they're good crops. I think people don't see a Victor when they look at me anymore, just an aging woman trying to contribute to the local economy.
And here, at the plant, my colleagues treat me as normal. They're all strong characters with their own demons that they've had to fight, I expect that's why I've walked into these halls unjudged. The laughs over lunchtime coffee and the satisfaction of working together to fix a critical issue are as close to a normal life as I'm ever going to get.
I'll never fully let go, but I think this is moving on.
It has to be.
"Patricia, can you run a spot check on the transformer before the hour is up?" My supervisor asks.
It feels weird to have a supervisor, but Harry is a good man. I fasten my wrench and twist hard, the spewing leakage of water pitters out to a dribble at my feet. I wipe the sweat and spray from my brow, and give him a nod.
I like that people treat me normally now. I think it's a mixture of enough time passing, and people having their own problems - either way, years of special treatment grind you down. I just want a normal life, and I think, finally, I've found one.
I buzz the lift and ascend to the powerhouse.