lost and found | peter/celeste
Feb 19, 2022 17:09:53 GMT -5
Post by Cait on Feb 19, 2022 17:09:53 GMT -5
celeste brere
The first place I’d visited when I’d arrived in the Capitol was the medical ward.
Perhaps the one silver lining of being in this situation was the impeccable care given to us as tributes. The irony isn’t lost on me, but I’m too grateful to give it much thought. I’d heard too many hometown horror stories of stillbirths and maternal mortality for my liking.
The nurse is gentle yet firm. She doesn’t speak, and I shudder at the thought of the mess in her mouth, the absence of a tongue. But she’s no less of a person to me. She runs tests and pokes at my stomach and takes my temperature and when all is unsaid and done, hands me a piece of paper which confirms my suspicions.
9 weeks. Healthy. A long road ahead.
I know I’m little more than a glorified prisoner whose life is nothing but fodder for entertainment, but something about her warm smile and brown eyes made me feel at ease. Like I was more than just a sacrifice.
For a moment, I almost believe it myself.
I’d ended up in the cafeteria after shredding the piece of paper into tiny, miniscule pieces and setting them on fire for good measure. As much as I wanted to keep the parchment close to my heart, I knew it was too risky. The Avox nurse was no threat to sharing the news, but the physical evidence remained. With the remnants of confirmation going up in smoke, I had promised myself to keep the pregnancy a secret – something I would take to the grave, if I had to.
But decisions you never thought you’d go back on can change like a flash in the pan, I’m learning more and more with every passing minute.
A lone scrap of paper lay abandoned on the table in front of me. I looked around, but there was nobody looking to claim it. I hadn’t meant to intrude – for all I knew, it was just a piece of rubbish someone had forgotten to throw away. But the paper was turned face down and there was no way to know without at least skimming the underside. The weight of the ink came to life in my hands as I started to read the messy handwriting. And a few words had turned into a few lines which had turned into sitting in the cafeteria alone, heart hammering away in my chest at the notion that I might not be as alone as I once thought.
I love you Luca,
Dad.
It’s not signed off with a name, but the clues littered throughout the letter help me decipher the mystery. Teddy, the District Six mentor who was rumoured to be quite close to one of the tributes, Peter. It’s not much to go on, but my gut feeling pulls me away from the cafeteria and towards the dormitories to search for the author of the letter.
Maybe I should have left it where it was to save getting involved. But there’s someone else in here with a family, a child to love and care for, and the thought of never being able to tell them how special they are almost breaks me completely.
That’s why I find myself standing outside of Peter Webster-Văduva’s door, the quiet of the empty hallway creeping up my spine in warning. The plan was to slide the letter under his door and leave before he could even notice the letter was missing – because as much as I wanted to talk to him and understand his story, I felt immensely guilty at having read something so sacred and heartfelt.
Mind made up, I crouch down and reach forward to slide the letter through the tiny gap between the door and the carpet –
– just as the door opens and I come face to face with a pair of scuffed shoes.