Clato: love at last sight

epilogue, final chapter (25)

It's been 2 years, 2 years since I participated in the hunger games. Ever since the first night I've had nightmares, nobody knows because I keep quiet, but they're there. Cato gets killed every time, sometimes I get killed by Thresh right after other times I have to live miserable without him. Over the course of time, it's been going better, the nightmares got less, the hole in my heart got filled up a little, but it's all still there. I loved Cato, I still do, but it's time to move on.

Over time there were a lot of boys that asked me out for dates. I don't know why, though it's probably because I won the games and that I am rich now. Some girls look at me with pride and some with straight-up disgust. I'm not really a people person,  I never was. The first few months after the games I stayed at home and the first of those weeks I stayed in bed. Enobaria and Brutus did check on me and made sure I ate, but it had to stop.

After 6 months I had to go on my victory tour, a reminder of all that I did. It was awful, but I made it through. When I returned I decided I should start living again, that was what Cato had wanted after all. I started taking runs and going to the training center. Even if I was done with killing, I could never stop throwing my knives. I started improving even more in everything I did and I felt so much better when I started getting active again. 

A week after my first run I started getting my own groceries. Now, every time Enobaria or Brutus would check on me they would look at me with an approved look. I was slowly getting better. This didn't mean I had moved on, I was far from it. I avoided everything with swords or spears and couldn't visit any place where I had been with Cato. The only place related to him where I went was the graveyard. I had to visit him, even if it hurt. 

The nightmares were very bad, but as soon as I woke up they were gone. I could see flashes of the games every time I closed my eyes, but after a cold shower and a bit of drawing, it slowly went away.

After a year I even started going out again. I had a few good friends and sometimes went to get coffee on my own. My life was slowly getting back to normal. And it was when the second year passed it was like nothing had changed. The nightmares got less bad, they were still there though. Apart from them, the only difference with my old life was all the boys that wanted to go on dates.

I just wasn't ready for new love, until...

At my 2,5 year celebration (don't ask me why they celebrated that) I got a strong need to fight and maybe hurt myself. I gave myself up at a fighting ring. There were almost only boys, but I knew I could win. Luckily no one recognized me, so no one betted on the scrawny little girl. I won every fight of course. 

3 years had past and I was standing in the ring ready for my next battle. Something felt weird, and when I read the name of my opponent my heart skipped a beat. 'Sword Boy'. I looked around trying to identify who I was going to fight. Then my eyes landed on a boy who looked around 21 years old, he had golden blond hair and perfect blue eyes. Only his blue eyes were filled with sorrow when he saw me. He glanced up and jumped into the ring giving me a good look at him. 

But, it couldn't be...