WHO: Madge Undersee (and Aspen), and OPEN WHAT: Enjoying the sunshine WHEN: Thursday WHERE: The park WARNINGS: TBD STATUS: Open/Ongoing
While other people were preparing to go back to school, it wasn't on Madge's mind at all. Neither she nor Gale were taking any classes, she was taking a semester off from her job with the choir, and Aspen was far too young for that. Still, August made Madge think of fall, and thinking of fall made her think of winter. And winter in Panem had been a brutal, deadly time. She knew it wasn't like that here, but it was still hard to get rid of her visceral reaction to the season. She'd awakened gloomier than usual because of it, which had convinced her at once that she needed to get out in the warm sunshine and brighten her spirits.
She got out of bed, fed Aspen, dressed him, got dressed herself, and put him in the snugglie that held him close to her. Then she left the apartment, locking the door behind her.
Out here in the street, it was impossible to tell that summer was taking a break at all. It was hot, and sunny, and even the breeze smelled of summer. That was a good thing, she supposed, and she couldn't help but smile a little. Aspen snuggled against her, still too little for his eyes to really focus on the world around him, but she liked taking him out in it anyway.
She walked to the park by the river, where she sat in a swing, rocking back and forth slowly as Aspen slept. Her life here was so perfect that sometimes it terrified her. Now was one of those times. Maybe this was what it felt like to have a lot to lose. She'd never really felt it before.