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"Lucy Gray isn’t a District girl; she’s a Covey, and the Coveys were wanderers before the dark days."
That’s what Coriolanus Snow said in the interviews when asked about the singing girl in the vibrant clothes. Yes, Lucy Gray, to them, is Coriolanus Snow’s girl; not just to them, but to him, she really is his girl. She sang like a beautiful bird and also wrote her own songs; it’s a shame she was a rebel.
One day Lucy Gray disappeared, leaving all her belongings behind. No one could figure out her whereabouts, not even Coriolanus, who had originally escaped with her. In his version, she had left to find Katniss and vanished; when he went looking for her, the tracks on the ground had already been washed away by the rain.
When Coriolanus returned home and, upon reflection, concluded that it was better she had vanished, for she affected him too deeply, and that harmed him. He then decided to marry a woman incapable of shaking his resolve. However, despite these rationalizations, he never forgot her: her voice, eyes, hair, skin, gestures, and those exotic quirks from the District; she had won him over, and he desired her—even though she had run away, she still belonged to him.
Lucy Gray was soon forgotten by most, and the few who remembered her called her “Snow’s girl,” a nickname that pleased him. She was his.
Years passed, and his grandmother’s prophecy came true: he became president of Panem and ruled for many years, but Coriolanus never forgot her; even after he was married and had children, she remained his. She continued to haunt him…
The Games became more lethal, with elaborate themes tailored to the Capitol’s tastes; they were no longer just a bloodbath. They became, above all, a form of entertainment.
The first Quaternary Massacre took place as a novelty, conceived by Volumnia Gaul, leader of the games’ creators. That year, the District itself would be responsible for choosing the tributes for the edition. The Quaternary Massacres were held every 25 years.
President Snow was married, had children, and was already a grandfather; yet the sole winner from District 12 belonged to him. And, moreover, he had not forgotten her. He ordered the construction of a human cage, the place where she was to remain, though he did not know her current location or even if she was still alive.
The last Hunger Games were a failure: a mirrored arena that not even its own designers fully understood; however, the tribute from District 3, Wiress, understood it and won, proving herself more astute than many members of the Capitol.
They weren’t the worst Games, but they weren’t the best either, so the following year had to be memorable. Unlike the other arenas designed by architects, this one had been planned by President Snow, who recalled his days as Dr. Gaul’s apprentice.
The arena was complete. There was a profusion of vivid, intense colors—after all, Lucy Gray is a Covey, and they love colors, and she loved them even more. However, everything there was toxic, just as she was on the inside. That landscape symbolized, for Snow, the very embodiment of Lucy Gray.
The arena was used in the second quadrant massacre. The number of tributes had doubled. Even before the tributes were selected, Snow was already convinced that these would be the best Games, not just because of the arena, but because he had a hunch.
The hunch proved true when a boy laid a dead girl at his feet, confronting him in front of everyone.
These Games were the longest on record; they were also among the worst—or were they, in fact, the most favorable? The young man who challenged him went by the name of Haymitch Abernathy, from District 12; moreover, he had a girlfriend Covey. Her name is Lenore Dove.
Does she look like Lucy Gray? Who can say?
In addition to his confrontation with Haymitch before entering the arena, he blew up the water generator, triggering the volcano’s eruption; he also tried to blow himself up upon reaching the arena’s boundaries, using a force field to win the games. Everything went wrong, from start to finish. And, after his first explosion, he even sang an unknown song, though one with an equally rebellious tone.
Coriolanus considered punishing him by eliminating his family. The decision had already been made. He even issued this warning at Haymitch’s coronation party, but then what came next happened.
The most recent winner from District 12 was a meter off the ground, trapped in the cage that was meant to house his girl. Nothing out of the ordinary at first glance, but the celebration ended and he remained there, trapped. All the guests had already left, but Coriolanus had decided to stay. There were only the two of them in the room; he remained silent, and Haymitch was unaware of this.
Haymitch Abernathy, caged and in despair, could do nothing.
The silence of the night was piercing, but even more striking was the song Haymitch began to sing: his voice broke the stillness and reached Snow’s ears, who listened in silence, savoring the moment.
When the winner stopped singing, Coriolanus watched him closely, taking him in completely this time.
Lucy Gray Baird is his girl, a Covey, not a District native; Haymitch Abernathy is from the District, but that’s where the differences seemed to end. They had the same eyes, the same hair, the same mannerisms; perhaps because she had been raised in a district. Maybe because he, having his own Covey girl, ended up picking up some of her quirks; who knows. The important thing is that he reminded the girl of Snow.
Ah, Haymitch… Too bad for him that he looks so much like her.
That cage was designed for Lucy Gray, but it ended up fitting Haymitch.
Even if his little bird got away, this other one won’t be so lucky. Snow will make sure of that.
After all…
Snow lands on top