When I Died

Chapter 42

I sit, watching my children play in the field with the many other kids. It seemed as if all of the district 12 children had come to the field by the seam today. Of course, none of the children knew that they were playing over a graveyard. It's probably why the grass is so green and the flowers that span across the field are so fresh. A ball flies past my face and a short 9 year old apologizes.

My own children are sitting under a tree, Rue trying to teach Finn how to make a daisy chain, even though his 1 1/2 year old fingers are way too chubby to thread the stem through.

Peeta had chosen Finns name and I had chosen Rues.

Peeta had suggested Prim, but it was still too soon. My eyes brim with tears and I let them flow. Peeta comes up behind me, with a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything. I don't know." I shout, throwing my hands in the air in frustration.

"It's ok." He comforts.

"No it's not ok! Coin killed her! COIN KILLED MY SISTER. SHE'S A MONSTER." I shout, and then I break down. I cry into Peeta's shoulder.

"Coin killed her." I whisper. Suddenly a voice comes from behind us.

"No she didn't."

Was that? But it couldn't be.... But I had heard it. And so had Peeta. I looked at his face, and he was looking behind us, his eyes wide with shock.

Slowly, I get up and turn to face the person. She is unmistakable. her blond hair, although a little too long now, was as it always had been and her eyes were the same clear blue. She has a necklace around her neck, and she is wearing pretty dirty clothes. It was my dead sister.

"But she tried." She says, finishing her sentence before.

"Prim?" I croaked. She nodded.

Then we are wrapped in a hug, and I put my head against hers.

"How?" I ask, tears falling down my face.

"Long story."

"I don't care. Just don't ever die again."

She laughs. "I'll try not to."

"Good."

~~~

Primrose

It takes a while to explain it all to Katniss. She accepts the fact that I was with Percy, and gladly accepts that Bonnie is alive. It is almost midnight when we finish telling the story, and she tells me to go to bed as soon as its done. I gladly accept, and fall asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.

The next day, I take a stroll, and I am half conscious that everyone stops and stares at me, but I ignore them.

I spend the day going around the district, taking in all the familiar, yet not so familiar surroundings.

Of course, the next day isn't as calm. As soon as I wake up, I can hear the press outside. I get up and run downstairs, where Katniss is serving breakfast to the kids.

"Hey aunt Primrose." Rue greets me.

"Hey Rue, morning Finn."

He gurgles some nonsense at me in response and Katniss smiles.

I look at the door, that is almost bursting open with all the press.

"What do I tell them?" I ask Katniss.

"Tell them the truth. That way, if Max ever comes back, they'll know."

"Alright."

"Eat breakfast first, then get dressed and Peeta will prepare the lounge room for the dozens of interviews your going to have to give."

I do what she says, and ten minutes later, Peeta lets the first batch in. They pressure me with questions and I give them the most answers possible. Bonnie, Percy, Katniss, and even the kids, are all interviewed as well.

At about 4:00, Peeta shoos them out and we flop on the couch in exhaustion. Katniss sits next to me and tucks a stray piece of hair that has come out of my plait behind my ear, then frowns.

"You need it cut. Peeta? You up for it?"

"I'll try to tame it."

We stand up and Peeta takes me to the kitchen and sits me on one of the chairs.

"Ready?" He asks, picking up a pair of scissors.

"Sure."

He starts to cut it, every now and then checking it's even before starting off again. By the time he is done, he has had to change scissors three times. He finished by cutting a tiny snip off and then hands me a mirror. I take a look into it and smile. It is perfectly even, and he has made it so it stops about ten centimeters below my shoulders.

"Thanks." I say, hopping out of the chair.

"Your welcome." He smiles and we head back into the lounge room where Katniss has the TV on, and everyone is sitting around it. Percy is on one of the love seats and I sit next to him. He wraps his arm around me and I lean my head against him. I don't really pay attention to the movie, because all I can think about is the steady beating of his heart, and the familiar smell of pine on his chest. At that moment, I couldn't feel happier. Katniss and Peeta were opposite me, their children, or really my niece and nephew, were at their feet, Bonnie was sitting on the seat next to us and I was leant up against Percy.

All of the worries, all of the sadness from the past 3 years seems to wash away, and for the first time in ages, I stop thinking about what happened When I Died.

Because I knew the answer now. And what's the point of trying to solve the rest of the problem if it was already answered?