Skinny Love

Christopher Greenleaf

My name was Christopher Greenleaf and I was alive between the years of 2179 and 2197. My birthday was June 18, 2179 and I had bright blue eyes and brown, nearly black hair. I died when I was 18, in the 56th Hunger Games. I was there when my District partner, Violet Parks-Hadley, choked to death on her own blood. It killed me because I had never gotten the chance to tell her that Jennifer was grateful to her for volunteering. I held her and took the time to tell her the things that Jennifer asked me to tell her. I'm not sure how much of it that she heard. I'm not even one hundred percent sure what I said to her anymore. All I remember is the look in her eyes as she died. I did my best to take revenge on her killer, as it was custom for us to do. That attempt is what caused me to lose my life. I had expected myself to be better in fighting with a sword than he was at fighting with a spear. I remember seeing the District 4 tribute launching his spear at my body and then pain. The rest is just darkness that I can't remember.

I was married to Jennifer Love, now Jennifer Greenleaf, for nearly two years before I was reaped in the Games that ended my life. I left her behind with one daughter and another on the way. I have watched them when I could to make sure that they're all happy and doing fine. Even though I have passed away, I still worry about Clove or Ella being reaped and joining me wherever I am... That's the thing... I don't know where I am. I truly don't all around me is darkness and I swear there are times that I am still alive and then there are times that I am not even sure. I can't tell if I'm dead or alive and that scares me. I have heard rumors that the Capitol does experiments on the tributes that are killed but I'm not sure. I can't remember if there was anyone that could have told me if it was true or not. The thought of my body getting experimented on scares me. If they are trying to figure out how to bring someone back to live then I do not want to be the person that they manage to bring back. Jennifer went through enough pain for the year after my death. I refuse to put her through all of that again.

I don't want my girls to have their lives cut short like I did. I want them to be happy. Especially Ella, I have not once seen a Games where there was a successful archer. The tribute was always killed within the first few days because they were not smart enough and made a stupid mistake. Ella may be a smart girl but in the times of the Games nearly everything you learn fades away and it's hardest to remember things that you need. She could make a simple mistake, such as not covering her fire to hide it before moving, and end up being killed anywhere from moments to days later. Also, any tribute that had a bow would not be skilled in hand to hand combat. Now... For Clove... She's smaller than most of the girls in her age group but made up for it with her ability to throw knives without missing her targets. I hope that will be able to keep my girls alive if they are reaped in the few years they have left with that possibility. I don't want my girls with me until they have lived a long life with a beautiful family.