Duck Hunting
The bridge was old; it was much older than District 12. People claim it was built long before the Great War by some ancient rich family whose name "Raven" is still carved in its granite. The bridge still spans the stone-laden river which splits the district. On each side, a continual line of huge oaks covered the river and its bridge, making a cool and dark place even in the middle of summer.
I sat on a branch up in an old oak tree, overlooking the bridge, watching and waiting. It was hard climbing the tree, but it wasn't my fake leg's fault. I never was good at climbing. For Katniss it was a lot easier. She sat next to me, waiting quietly. Soon our prey would arrive, so we waited patiently.
They were walking together side by side, a young boy and a girl. They were our prey.
I recognized the boy—he was Rory Hawthorn—and of course I recognized the girl: she was my adopted niece, Prim. They both carried their books, but were walking far too slow, like they really didn't want to get anywhere. Last night Katniss had waked me from a sound sleep, wanting to talk to me about what she had found in Prim's diary. I listen to her for the longest time waiting for an apology or something for the big fight that had kept us apart for days, but nothing. I might as well ignore the angry words we exchanged if she was. I knew it was pointless to complain to Katniss that she shouldn't have read a girl's diary. What she learned had upset her so much that I had no choice but to intervene. If I didn't do something, she might have done something on her own.
They both stopped on the bridge, holding hands as they talked. Rory leaned over, and their lips became one. I glanced toward Katniss, who was florid with anger, and I knew I would have to do something fast. I imaged the first thing I could think of, then pushed.
Rory started swatting at the air as he backed up yelping. If you looked closely you could see a black dot zooming around his head.
Swatting at the air, Rory yelled, "Damn, that is a big bee!"
Katniss' face regained its color as she smiled with surprise. "Peeta! Are you doing that?"
I couldn't help but smile at Rory's comical gesticulations as I said, "You like? How about this?" The dot disappeared, and Rory started patting at his shirt, desperate to remove the bug crawling underneath. Prim started whacking at his chest too. I began to feel really bad about what I was doing; I had let it go too far.
Katniss' smile turned to concern. "You're getting too good at that. There's something just not right about reaching into people's heads. But I must say, I enjoyed it."
In the distance you could hear Gale calling, "Rory! You get here right now!" Rory ran off.
Katniss was surprised. "Peeta, you did Gale's voice too!"
I started to feel bad about what I did. I had reached into a boy's head and made him hallucinate just because he wanted to kiss my niece. Or maybe I did it to please Katniss—either way, I didn't feel right about it. "Yeah, I thought I'd tortured Rory enough. Now the hard part: I need to talk to Prim. What should I say?"
At the mention of Prim, Katniss got angry again. "Tell her she is just too young for kissing boys! Tell her she is stupid to trust a boy! Tell her her mom is going to tan her hide!"
How I wished I wasn't there. "Okay. Okay. I'll make something up." I took a big breath and got to my feet.
When Prim finally passed the tree I was in, I jumped down. From just a few feet behind her I said, "Prim, what are you doing here?"
Prim jumped so forcefully I felt bad for scaring her so. I had already felt bad for what I did to Rory, so I just want it to be over.
Prim's voice went up an octave as she said, "Uncle! Where did you come from? What are you doing here?"
"I was watching a girl meet a boy on the bridge," I said plainly, Katniss coming up behind me.
I had never seen Prim lie to me before, and now I could see why. She was so bad at it. "I was just walking home from school. Rory was just walking with, that's all."
"Oh, what a little liar! Peeta, tell her she is too young!" Katniss said.
Watching Prim struggle, I pitied her and said, "Prim, before you dig yourself any deeper in trouble, I saw everything."
Now Prim changed from lying to pleading. "You're not going to tell Mom, are you?"
"No, but you are."
"She better!" Katniss snapped.
"Prim, sit with me a while." I walked over to a fallen tree log. "You need to talk to me some. I need to understand what you are doing and why."
We sat on the log, all three of us. Prim hung her head and said, "Me and Rory, well, we just like each other. We haven't done anything."
"She is too young. Peeta, tell her she is too young!" Katniss pleaded.
I knew Prim felt bad about it, and so did I. I wanted her to know that I was on her side, that Katniss and I would always be there for her, protecting her from everything we could, even her own immature decisions.
"Prim, you are only twelve," I said firmly. "You need some time to figure some things out, and you don't need to rush anything. If you wait, you'll know what you want, and at least have a chance of getting what you need. I know Rory—he's a good kid, but he needs time too; he could end up doing something he'll regret later. I am not your mother, but if you want to see him, have him over. I'm sure your mom won't mind—just no more sneaking about."
She got a sad look on her face and pleaded, "Uncle, we don't know if we have any time. Next year me or Rory could be gone like Katniss."
That hit hard, because it was dead-on. Next year there would be another reaping, and Prim or Rory could be gone. I could just say it won't happen, or I won't let it happen, but of course it was possible. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but think that they will pick Prim again. It would be just the kind of weird revenge by the Capitol I have learned to expect from them.
In shock, Katniss almost yelled, "Oh, Peeta, they wouldn't—they couldn't!"
I was really upset at that thought, but I knew I had to be the adult and be rational. I took a big breath before saying, "Prim, you can't organize your life around possibilities like that. We must bravely face this world, not give in to it. It's what Katniss would want for you!"
"You told me you fell in love with Katniss when you were five years old!" Prim argued. "So why is it so different for me?"
Thinking back on all that my love for Katniss had done for me—and to me—I felt like I was on an emotional cliff. How can I explain to her how precious Katniss is to me while being honest about the sheer pain it has caused? "Prim, my love was great and strong, a force of nature, but it has cost me so much. I want you to have a normal love. I want it all to work so much better for you than it did for me."
Prim grabbed me and held me in an embrace. "It's okay, Uncle. I'm sorry. I should have never spoken to you so."
I had to work hard to say it in my current state, but I say. "Prim, you know I will protect you for the rest of my life, if they call your name I will volunteer, and take the place of whatever boy was picked. If you are called you will be the victor! You promise to talk to your mom when we get home?"
Katniss' eyes watered at my dedication and love towards her little sister, and she whispered a gentle "Thank you," behind me.
Prim puts her arm around me to console me. "Yes, Uncle Peeta, I'll talk to her. I'm sorry—I didn't mean to hurt you."
We got up and began walking back home. It wasn't till we were almost there when Prim spoke again. "Can I ask you a personal question?"
"Sure. I think today is the day for that kind of thing."
"What is Tess to you?" Prim asked bluntly.
At that Katniss turned and watched me closely. I knew that she had wanted to ask that of me for a while. Whenever Tess came over, Katniss would just disappear.
"Wow, we are getting personal today!" I laughed. "No, no, it's okay. Tess is a marvelous girl; she makes me feel young again. She looks out for me, and I've learned to depend on her."
Prim gave me a sly smile. "I think she really does like you."
"Peeta, she does love you," Katniss chimed in.
I looked down to the ground to hide my face as I said, "I think so too."
"So do you think you two might someday get together?" Prim asked.
Now that Prim had asked the question—the question Katniss wanted to ask—I tried to phrase it toward the both of them. "I don't know. I really think Katniss would like me to move on. I do need someone, but I'm not sure I can do it. Part of me can't give up on Katniss, even now. I know it sounds crazy, but I just can't let go."
Katniss looked sad and a little shocked, then just slowly dissolved. Her eyes were the last things to disappear, and I felt so convicted by them.
Prim, ignorant of the drama, just said, "No pressure, but I think you would be a great dad. And I would love to have some nieces and nephews."
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