Prim and Rue

MY NAME IS PRIMROSE EVERDEEN. I have seen my sister fight for me. And win.
I have seen her, racing to help her love—ally, she might have called him. I have seen her break down because she doesn’t know how to save everyone but herself. How to let them all go free and have the Capitol take her, kill her.
I have also seen her, staring back at me in shock and fear, as the bombs drop down. I give her a faint smile and a whistle lost in the sound.
I whistle for the end of the working day. A girl flashes into my mind as I die. A little dark-skinned girl, who looks about the same size as me. She is very familiar.
She smiles and comes toward me, no longer just in my head but also in reality.
“I’m Rue,” she murmurs. “And you are Katniss’s sister.”
“So I am,” I whisper. “Am I dead?”
“Yes—but it’s not so bad. I get to see Katniss every day, you know! I watch her, wishing I could tell her.”
“Tell her what?” I ask.
“That it’s okay.” Rue smiles again, but instead of cheerful, this one is sad. “I miss her. Katniss. I only knew her for a little while, but I loved her like—like a sister. Like you must love her. Sometimes I feel an aching in my heart, and I want to die. That’s kind of when I realize the truth. I am dead. There’s no going back…” her voice trails off and I see tears glistening as they run their course down her smooth cheeks.
I hug her. “Don’t be afraid,” I whisper, my voice choked with unshed tears. “She’ll come. One day she’ll come here too, and we’ll be a family again. I promise.” My voice breaks on the last word and I do not continue.
I promise.