You Asked For This - Finnick Odair

Blue Flowers

"The world just kept turning. I never forgave it for that."
– Ben Breadon

...

"When I grow up, and Sean and I get married, will you be my flower girl?" Lyra asks, casually talking about the future while walking the shoreline with the strawberry-blonde.

Cora smiles at the girl. "Was that not already the plan?"

The nine-year-old laughs at the fifteen-year-old's response.

"What kind of flowers do you want? Your brother and I can get you any kind you can imagine, so you can ask for anything."

The blonde girl thinks about this for a while. It's true, Finnick and Cora can make sure she has anything she wants. They're rich and they could leave District 4 if they wanted to. The possibilities are almost limitless.

"Blue ones," the girl decides. "I've never seen blue flowers before. I've seen pink, and red, and purple, and yellow, and orange ones. And they always have green stems and leaves. But, there are no blue flowers here."

Coral smiles at Lyra's explanation. "Then, blue flowers, you shall have."

...

There were blue flowers at Lyra Odair's funeral.

She would never be able to grow up. She would never be able to marry Sean. She would never be able to have a wedding with blue flowers. She could at least have blue flowers at her funeral. Cora made sure of that.

The strawberry-blonde hadn't let go of Finnick's hand since she had to tell him about Lyra. It was a comfort for both of them. Finnick hadn't set foot in his mansion since his baby sister was killed there. He couldn't bring himself to do it.

Finnick and the Newports moved in with Mags, who took them in with open arms. No one knew if it was a permanent move or not. That didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Not when Lyra Odair was gone.

Sunrises seemed dull without her. Cora and Annie tried to watch one in her honor. The moment they saw the sun peek out from the horizon, they couldn't take it and ran back inside. It was easier to hide from the sunrise than accept that the sun still rose without her. It didn't seem fair.

"Darling, don't you cry.
Head fast toward the light.
Foolish men have tried,
But only you have shown me how to love being alive."

Cora softly sang to the peaceful-looking girl in the casket. Her beautiful blue eyes were kept closed so that, maybe, she could be sleeping. Her blonde hair was done neatly and she wore a white dress. She looked like an angel. She was an angel. Always had been.

"Dearly beloved," began District 4's funeral director. "We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of Lyra Odair..."

Cora couldn't bear to listen. She squeezed Finnick's hand to let him know she was there for him.
Sean was sitting next to Cora.

He hadn't said a word since Lyra... The brown-eyed boy sat there silently, no emotion on his face. He was going to turn twelve soon. She wouldn't. What was there to say?

When Lyra had been buried and marked with a stone (Here Lies: Lyra Odiar; daughter, sister, friend. She was made of sunshine.), Sean stayed the longest at her grave.

Cora and Finnick, still hand-in-hand, stood a few yards away. Annie and Crane had taken Blue back to Mags's mansion.

"She deserved better," Finnick whispered, staring at the stone bearing his sister's name.

"I know," Cora whispered back. There were no words to describe how whole-heartedly she agreed.

No more words were said. They stayed there as the sun sank below the horizon and the sky began to darken. Cora refused to look at the sunset.

Lyra was buried near Reef. Ocean's headstone was nearby as well, though there had been no body to bury. Cora didn't want to be near the graves. She avoided them at all costs, pretending they didn't exist.

When Reef was buried, Ocean had stayed with Blue and Sean at his grave. Cora couldn't bring herself to step foot near that graveyard.

She hadn't been around for Ocean's funeral, which was held during the games, the day after he was killed. She didn't visit him either.

The only reason she was this close to the graveyard was because Finnick needed her. Because Sean needed her. Because Ocean wasn't around to be the oldest sibling anymore.

Eventually, Sean left Lyra's grave and walked up to the teenagers. The three left silently. What was there to say?

Lyra Odair was gone. And she was never coming back.