Older and Wiser (Dee)

[cisco]

It was dark, but still hot. The heat seemed to come off the ground in waves, and Soukina is grateful. One more year alive. Another summer come around and she was glad to have it. Soukina liked the summer for mostly two reasons. Firstly, the cold autumn and winter made her bones hurt. And secondly, during the summer (before the corn was ripe for picking), the bravest, most foolish residents of District 11 would gather between the rows of corn to have a few midnight exchanges. The black-market denizens of the District shuffled between the walls of leafiness and traded whatever contraband wares they managed to obtain.

Soukina had been coming to the Cornrows since it began, many years before. People had been scared to gather at night, but they realized that as long as they left the unripened cornstalks alone, the Peacekeepers left them mostly to themselves. And sometimes, even engaged in the occasional transaction. Especially when it came to the shimmy girls, who would give a kiss for a couple of ounces of bread. Or for the ginmakers who would make drinkin gin out of corn husks. As a drink, it was nasty! But Soukina wouldn't turn away a nice tumbler of it if it came her way.

With the fat moon on the horizon, they hardly needed to use valuable lamp oil to see through the warm night air. Old Soukina set up her stall: an upside-down wooden crate and scrappy piece of old silk. She laid out her cards and the only two jars of "Soukina's Special Love powder" that she had left. Hopefully some lovesick kiddo would come bounding by. It definitely seemed like a night for love!

Hoping for the best, she looked around, flashing her winning smile. Even though the folks were tired, and probably looking for medicine or extra food for their babies, Soukina knew that her services were tempting and someone generous would soon come her way. She was just glad there were no more babies for her to feed... People gave her little furtive looks as she waved and winked at them. She was sure someone would come by today. Even if just for a little chat.

Fortunes! She exclaimed. Getcha fortunes told!

She threw a few of her lucky chicken bones into a bowl. Now she was ready, and open for business!

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

((I'm too sad to format this. I'll make it prettier soon.))

~Arianna Taylor~

Arianna hated how sticky the weather got over the summer, especially when it was night time. It made it more difficult for her to sleep or to even concentrate on a simple task such as planning out the activities for the next day. Of course, she was going to have to do some harvesting as usual, but then there was also the laundry since Annora never handled that on her own. Arianna looked down at her fingers to count off the number of items that would be on the to-do list she would write down tomorrow.

“I’m going out now! You be a good girl, okay?” Arianna hated it when her sister left for the evening to do whatever business she was up to, but she hated it even more when her sister treated her like a little girl or like a miscreant who was going to blow up their living space while she was gone. So Arianna decided to do what her sister did not want; she left their “home”. Arianna never could call it home, but it had provided the sisters a shelter so to speak and they seemed pretty settled into it. It just didn’t have that home-y feeling, though.

While she could have easily followed her sister that night, she didn’t want to get caught up in the same business as her sister. Plus, she had heard amongst the other pickers that the black market was going to be set up that night. Some old woman had told them that the moon would be “hidden behind many clouds” and that it would be “the perfect night for secrets.” Arianna never cared for secrets, but wasn’t she holding one herself? So technically, she would belong there…wouldn’t she? Either way, Arianna needed to get out, and it was the only place that came to mind.

The heat was extremely present that night, but the humidity was a little better than usual. And the moon wasn’t even hidden! Arianna rarely listened to the adults, but the few times she did, she was always lied to. Only another lie to add on to her already heaping pile. She headed into the cornrows, her eyes trying to find the black market. She never bought anything or sold anything or traded anything; she was only there to look. Of course, there were always some items that she would be intrigued by, but never enough for her to pull out some of her meager wages to spend on. And what could she possibly have to trade? There were always talks of how some residents wanted a piece of them but Arianna had already blocked that from her mind, believing that couldn’t possibly be true.

Some stalls had bread products, some stalls had accessory products. They were all very interesting to look at, but once the stall tender came by to try to sell something to her, Arianna would back away and avert her eyes. That way, she didn’t have to speak to them. Finally, she spotted something she was sure was never there before; either that or her eyes had passed over it every single time. It wouldn’t have been too difficult to not see as the stall itself was just an upside down wooden crate. There were some odd-looking cards along with some jars that were labeled, “Soukina’s Special Love powder” to which Arianna wrinkled her nose. She was never one to believe in superstition, and love powders hardly seemed like a very real product. Just one more lie being fed.

Arianna could only stare at the stall tender though. She was an old woman, one Arianna had never seen before, yet the woman’s eyes must have had a lot of knowledge held inside. She looked friendly enough, but weren’t everyone in the black market supposed to be friendly? It was how they grabbed customers. Despite knowing that, Arianna moved up to the old woman and pointed at the cards. She had nothing to offer but questions.

[cisco]

A hand-holding couple breezed by. Soukina gave the girl a knowing wink. Another fella brought in by Soukina's famous powders. Well, maybe it was that the girl was pretty and the boy was hungering for love... But the powders gave them confidence, and that's all that really matters, isn't it? Soukina could not help but remember other summer nights in times gone by, when she held her late husband between the sugar cane and he declared his love.

But all that had gone way. Even though Soukina smiled and waved and winked, there was a something missing inside her. With the babies all grown and the husband in the grave, what was left for Soukina? This little black-market job was nothing but a hobby. Nowadays she didn't eat much and even though her joints burned and bones ached, she always worked so she had enough to eat. The extra flour or herbs that she gained in the Cornrows usually went into cakes for her daughters' own kiddos. But really, they weren't starving either... There was so much energy inside of her. So much of the sun had pummeled her throughout her years workin in the plantings and the harvests, and now it was entrenched inside of her- a warmth that had nowhere to be directed.

Soukina wiped a little sweat off her brow. For the first time in years, she felt tired. Truly tired inside of her guts and her bones. But she didn't let it show. As people stopped by to get their palms read, or take a pinch of powder for their love, Soukina smiled and winked and blew little kisses. She would never let anybody know how lonely she really was, coming home to an empty shack after working many lonesome hours. Not that anybody cared anymore. Of course, everyone was worried about their own problems. In District 11, no one is short of problems.

Soukina's pondering came to an end when she spotted a little girl wandering down the rows. She was slight and blonde and seemed totally out of place. With shady looking men darting from stall to stall, trading human teeth for contraceptives, ground up roots for medicines and drugs, and shimmy girls leaning against the corn, their mouths made red by wasps' poison from Soukina's own stall.... it just seemed wrong. Why... she's only a child!

As the girl neared her stall, Soukina eyed her with curiosity. What could such a tiny girl need here. Soukina hoped she wasn't a newly recruited shimmy girl... When she turned towards her own little stall, she was even more surprised. Surely this little girl did not want a pinch of love powder. No... There was probably something else going on. She did not recognize the child's face. She was not one of those wild children that sneaked out every few nights to come explore the Cornrows during the hot summers. There was something ethereal, even fragile about her.
Hello, dearie. Soukina smiled down at her little customer A card-readin'? Sure thing. First one's free. Let's see." She shuffled through the deck, cutting and stacking the cards. Finishing up by tapping the little blonde's head with the deck, she set down three upside-down cards on the crate. She flipped over the first one. "Hm. The Tower. This tells me you had a lot of hurt in your life, child. More hurt than even some of us here in the District can complain about."

And the second. "The Seven of Swords. I see blood. Violence... is common here. I'm sorry you had to see whatever it is you've seen, girlie.".

And the third. "The three of cups. That... means healing. Family. Maybe... everything's gonna be all right for you, my dear." . Soukina gave her a genuine smile.

The cards had been ruthless. Generally it was all peniless death when Soukina read the cards for the dopes in the Cornrows. But for this girl... it seemed like maybe there could be a happy ending after all.

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

It was odd, strange even, as the two females observed each other. It didn’t take a mind reader to know that the old woman was examining Arianna, just like how she was examining the old woman. Of course, the observances would be different, but for just that moment, two pairs of brown eyes were set on the others’ owners’ face. It was…awkward at best as Arianna had never been given this much attention by anyone other than her family members. She was just that simple to overlook, and she had gotten used to it which was probably why she instinctively felt the need to fidget.

But her pointing to the cards caused the break in examination as the old woman smiled and said that the first card reading would be for free. Arianna offered no response in emotions as she watched the woman shuffle the cards. There were a few cuts and Arianna was wondering what type of trick this woman did when all of a sudden, she felt the stack of cards tapped against her head. The moment she felt contact, she drew herself back, her eyes widened. But what was she supposed to be scared about? It was all just superstition and whatever the cards had to say surely would not be close to what she had experienced. No one could ever guess what type of horror she had to go through. Even Arianna had her moments where she did not understand what had happened either.

Only three cards were laid out on the upside down crate, causing Arianna to further her belief that this was all just an act. Three cards could never tell a whole life story; she was sure three cards could hardly tell one of her tales. But she didn’t tell the old woman to stop; in fact, she leaned in closer to listen to what the old woman had to say.

First was “the Tower”, which even Arianna had to admit sounded a bit absurd. But the name of the card was far different from what it represented. The old woman brought up hurt, even calling it hurt that many people had not experienced. Already, with just that one card, Arianna was beginning to pale. She had never told anyone what had happened to her as a child and the only other person who knew was her sister, who had been similarly affected. Arianna bit the inside of her cheek as she watched the woman move on to the next card.

It was more about violence, more about Arianna’s past. Arianna had been a small child when the big event happened, and even smaller when she first encountered the world of hurt. But everything was burning fresh and it felt like the old woman was lighting them on fire. The only problem was that they just would not disappear. Arianna kept herself composed as she waited for the next card, wondering what else it would reveal about her. There were no details that the woman gave, but the words that spilled out were enough to make Arianna want to know what was going to happen next.

Healing? How was the girl supposed to be healed? She had gone through so much abuse, so much trouble that she was beyond repair. Even her sister knew it as she hugged her every night before going out the door on what must have been another side business meeting. The mention of family threw her off even more. There was only one member of her family left, her sister, and as far as Arianna was concerned, their relationship was just fine. Well, except that they still kept secrets from each other, but they were close, closer than they had ever been. So what did the old woman mean about healing within the family?

Arianna looked up, the confused expression still on her face. The fear of what she had heard was long gone as she asked the woman what she meant by the healing. There was no more family, and there was hardly any space for healing. In fact, Arianna was rather content with the situation she was in…except for the bad memories that would constantly plague her at night. But how would any type of healing make those go away? They had been stored in her mind for so long that the idea of them leaving was difficult to grasp. Even any sort of reconciliation would be challenging at that point of time. Arianna shook her head, telling the old woman across from her that the last card must have been wrong. There was no hope for any healing.

[cisco]

Fascinated by the girl's gaze, Soukina watched intently. The way her eyes moved... the way she observed with keen, analytical eyes. Sharp, she thought. Sharp like a knife. Even as her limbs and fingers twitched with nerves, the girl took in Soukina, her stand, and the throw of cards like an investigator. That was more than could be said for the glaze-eyed children that sometimes wandered by, stomachs rumbling and begging for food. This girl didn't beg. Her nerves may have flared, but there was something hard inside her eyes, like a shiny stone.

She did not expect the tap! Soukina chuckled inside of herself- but the amusement ended with the throw of the cards and it morphed into something rather like pity. It was wrong that someone so small and fragile would have to brave the kind of bad fortune that had been laid out by the heavens. Soukina's hands ached a bit, and she rubbed them, thinking how lucky she had been. Even though her parents had died when she was young, she had not seen their deaths, and her own family had been thankfully blessed with good luck- as good as luck was around these parts.

The girl's attention came to a focus and Soukina's heart broke. Her sun-kissed skin paled, but she did not flinch. Usually when past misfortunes were exposed on the silk-covered crate, grown man had been known to weep, women scream out as if their innards were being pulled out. But this little girl, with her golden hair and youthful frame, did not shed a tear. She barely acknowledged whether she thought the reading was accurate. But Soukina knew it had struck a chord in the girl's memory when she scanned over the cards and pointed at the final one. The one that signified relief. Compassion. Healing. Connection. It was tragic because of the confusion on her face. There was a question that needed to be asked here. Usually Soukina had no answers. Maybe some advice. Or more questions, for another reading (which cost an ounce of flour at least). But the girl hadn't said a peep since she showed up. Was she even capable of speech? Soukina sighed.

"Girlie, I can't tell you exactly what the future brings. This is just a hint of what can await you... Another reading will cost you, thought... I don't know if it would be wise, though. Say, girlie! What's your name? Where's your momma? It's a bit late to be wanderin' around these parts..."

Soukina tried to hide her concern. But she couldn't help worrying about the girl. Soukina's motherly instincts kicked into high gear. Like a mother bear that's been hibernating, her instinctual maternal habits roared out from her chest and clouded her mind. Suddenly she was worrying about whether or not the child was hungry. Did she have a place to stay tonight? Did she need extra clothes to keep the chill away? Using all the willpower she had, she stayed quiet for another few moments, waiting for the girl's response.

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

((Sorry for such a short post. I didn't know what else I could say. xD))


Arianna was taken aback by the woman’s following words. Was she…trying to explain the last card? Or at least explain what it was trying to do? If so, that must have meant that she had seen Arianna’s confusion, which meant that it was evident. She averted her eyes, trying not to dwell too much into the cards. After all, they were just three cards and two of the three told her what she had already known.

When the old woman mentioned another reading, Arianna stuck up her hands and waved furiously while shaking her head. She didn’t want another reading, even if it would unlock more about what was to happen. It wasn’t going to happen anyway, so why pursue it?

But then the old woman started launching into questions, causing Arianna to feel a bit frenzied. No one had ever talked to her this much, not even her teachers. Her teachers had long accepted the fact that she would not speak in class and relied on her to make up for it in her work…which she never did. She didn’t know how she was going to answer the old woman’s questions—well, except the second one would be slightly easier. Arianna pointed at the first card and the second card, indicating that the two cards were somehow tied together. Then she held up two fingers, two meaning the second question. She hoped the old woman was sharp enough to pick up on the clues. As for her name, though…

Arianna had an idea, but she wasn’t sure how bright it was, both the idea and the night sky. She just relied on the fact that the old woman could see. Bending down, she used her index finger to write out her name in the soil. A-r-i-a-n-n-a. Arianna then tried to say it as well. “Ahr-ahn-na.” She lowered her head as her name came out garbled and incomprehensive. She had heard her sister call her by name and her teacher, but she had just been so out of practice that she couldn’t pronounce it herself. That was why she stuck with her hands; it was just easier for people to understand her then if she tried to speak to them.

She noticed that the old woman was quiet, which meant she was patient. Patience was always good. Arianna would remember the times when adults weren’t patient. Her teacher yelling at her in class, her parents and their need to satisfy their hunger at night, even her sister became impatient with her at times when Arianna tried to tell her something with her hands. “Stop using your hands! Tell me what you want to say! You can still speak!” But that wasn’t really true. Arianna no longer had a voice so how was she supposed to answer their calls, their demands? Arianna drew her attention back to the woman in front of her. She was curious about her and the questions that she asked, so she did the only thing that made sense; she pointed her finger at the old woman and tilted her head up, asking the same questions the old woman had asked her.

[cisco]

Old feelings rushed in, weaving tendrils over Soukina's heart. The hardness that had settled in after the babies left home began to waver. Even though her nature is towards sweetness and kindness, Soukina always knew that being too soft with strangers was a bad idea. As a young woman she knew of other girls who were attacked by men, even Peacekeepers, or people who were cheated by young con artists that roamed the Cornrows. But something about the confusion on this girl's face seemed so genuine... she just couldn't help but feel some pity for the poor thing.

As she shook her hands, making it perfectly clear that she was done with divination, Soukina thought This child don't need card readings... she needs somebody to be nice to her... Such thoughts were dangerous- stopping in the fields to help someone who'd fainted from exhaustion could get you shot. The opalescent moon provided safety from the Peacekeeper's guns, but it was still dangerous to be too soft. So Soukina decided she would be kind, but she would be careful. She would try to be sweet to the girl... but at the first sign of selfishness, or leech-like pouting... she was on her own. Soukina had lived a long time, and she didn't get to be so old by being a dope.

When the girl did not answer any questions, but just started pointing at the cards and making a two with her fingers, Soukina could tell right away that the girl couldn't speak. She heard her questions, apparently, so she wasn't deaf. And she didn't seem to be an "Avox." The sad creatures that she heard, long ago, were the rumored servants of the bastards in the Capitol. Immediately, Soukina connected the traumatizing, violent, and undeserved events in the child's past with her muteness. There's no guarantee that so much thing could destroy a person's ability to speak, but Soukina had witnessed stranger things in her own life.

By the moon's light, Soukina watched the girl write something out in the dirt. Suddenly the night was alive with a mystery! Soukina did not have such a stimulating night planned out. She had meant to stay out for a little bit, get a little flower for the babies' treats, and then she'd head home. But now there was a storie unfolding in front of her. The cards and unearth a past so sad and so destructive that it had taken a child's voice. Without wasting a second, she squatted down, her arthritic knees creaking and aching so badly that she let out a pained groan. "Aha! A..ri..a...nna... That's your name, kiddo?" She looked down at her ghostly, innocent little face. "That's a beautiful name."

Soukina's pity became fascination. How the human spirit could overcome anything. In the absence of voice, the light of the moon and the loose soil become speech. Soukina smiled down at Arianna and placed a hand against her chest. "I'm Soukina, but the kids usually call me Ole Sou," she said, as kindly as she could. "Even my own kiddos calle me that!" She let out a soft laugh.

"Say, girlie, are you hungry? I have some sugar-and-flour treats i made just this morning. They're not fresh-fresh, but the say they're even better after they sit for a while." Soukina dug aorund in her burlap sack. The treats had sunk down to bottom, and it took a while of pushing things around before she re-emerged, holding three golf-ball-sized treats wrapped in wax paper. She held them out to Arianna, smiling more than ever, and hoping that the girl would not bee too suspicious of an old woman peddling tricks in the black market.