by sahawolf » Tue Apr 10, 2012 1:00 pm
Terra's mother smiled sadly, kissing her daughter on her cheek."Whatever happens, don't be afraid." she told Terra, pressing something into her hands.
Terra gasped, "Mother, this is a token! Do y-you think-"
Her mother put a finger to her lips, "It's for luck."
Terra walked to the district's hub, a pile of brick buildings and a mess of weeds and half-grown flowers.Boys and girls alike walked slowly to the reaping areas.One for boys and one for girls.Some had their parents with them, others had come on their own, just like Terra.She kept walking, heading into a small crowd of children and parents.At the front, rows of kids were getting their fingers pricked, just so the capitol made sure they showed up.Any hope Terra had of leaving or running away had been shattered.
Just in and out, it won't take long.Just a normal reaping, you'll go back home and have some beef stew and everything will be alright, Terra told herself as the peacekeepers took a blood sample and waved her through.Okay, just a few more kids left, they'll start soon.I'll be back home sooner than i thought.
The last few stragglers had finally lined up and it was time to start the reaping.A capitol man, dressing in all the colors of the rainbow, stepped up and flashed us all a bright smile."Ladies and Gentlemen, it's finally time to select our brave, noble, and honorable tributes for the Hunger games!Are there any wonderful children who would love to have the honor of being district 11's tributes?" All was silent, but the man never seemed to notice. He continued, oblivous to the gaunt, dark faces below his platform."Right then, let's just leave it up to the odds, shall we? Ladies first!"
Slowly, almost painfully, he plucked a name from the big jar that held the fate of every girl in district 11."Ooh, we have a good one this time!Terra-" he paused, almost savouring all the girls looking up, including Terra herself.
"Falon."
And with one simple word, Terra's fate was decided.Somehow she made it up to the platform herself, stonefaced and somehow proud.It was a chance at the good life, a bad chance, but one that Terra was forced to make anyway.
Some faceless boy was chosen,to the capitol he was no one, but to Terra he was an enemy.Everyone she would meet from now on would be an enemy.Both tributes were escourted to the train with teary and greatful cheers.Parents were cheering for them only because they were picked, not their darling children.Terra couldn't blame them, her mother might have been cheering if things had not happened this way.Her mother had been the only one to vist her, and even then she never cried.Terra's mother was a strong woman, unlike Terra she might have been able to win the Hunger Games, if only she had been younger.In fact her mother never said anything for those three long minutes, just held Terra as she cried, wishing their lives had been different.
The train sped off, and Terra locked herself in her room of the train, refusing any human contact.She sat on her bed, whimpering.Digging in her pocket she grabbed her token.It didn't seem important before, but now it was her only link to district 11 and to her family.
She gasped, a sound almost like a sob at this point, looking at the beautiful necklace.The chain was silver, almost like a thread, braided together.It was adorned with charms in the shape of fruits.Ruby apples, topaz bannanas, amethyst grapes, shappire blueberries, all kinds of fruit resting inside a solid gold cornicoupia.Terra put the necklace on, squeezing it.Her mother was right, it was luck for the unlucky.
The island bathes in the sun's bright rays
Distant hills wear a shroud of grey
A lonely breeze whispers in the trees
Sole witness to history
~You Were There from Ico