Linden Understory

## Bio

*Linden Understory (she/her). District Seven Tribute. Twenty-three. Daisy Ridley.*

Growing up, Linden was always careful. whether that be in the literal sense (growing up surrounded by trees getting chopped down made you pretty situationally aware) or more abstract (always making sure there was enough money, to never run out). Linden always had enough, although the definition of enough was certainly nothing like the capitol’s. Her parents took care of her, their little house had enough blankets to keep warm, and though food money was tight, there was always dinner.

  Life wasn’t kind, but it wasn’t bad.

  Her parents liked her, even if they weren’t always around. They were busy, in the woods. An only child, Linden was left in their little home alone often, told to amuse herself and not to get into trouble.Until she got big enough to start working in the woods, hauling wood from the felled trees to the trucks that would take them to the train, or wherever it was they went. And then, she was handed a saw, and she was cutting those trees into wooden chunks. Pay was about the same, but she enjoyed staying in one place a lot more, even if it was an equally physically demanding job.

  She had her friends, though. The people she grew up with, the ones she gossiped with. And one boy, Barc, who she… well, they were a bit more than friends for a few years. Until the day that Linden found out she was pregnant. She told him the next morning, and while she hadn’t been sure what to expect (they were both so young, only nineteen) she had expected to see him again. But she didn’t. The very next day, he’d transferred away to another lumber yard. Last she heard, he was learning to operate those loaders. She could’ve followed, but the message was clear.

  He was out. She was doing this alone.

  Her dad died that winter. Cholera, maybe, or the flu. They never called a doctor. Something bad had left him coughing for days until he’d stilled, and then gone into the ground. Her mother and her both had to work harder to keep the food and the lights coming. And then, near the end, she couldn’t work at all. She could’ve tried, but her mom didn’t let her, insisting she stay home with the new baby: Elowyn Understory. And little Ellie needed her mom, so Linden obliged.

  Linden stayed with Ellie as long as she could, took care of cooking and washing and budget and everything she could. She was grateful to her mom’s working so hard for them both. Too hard, as it  would turn out. One day, Oaklynn came home from work on a stretcher. This time, unlike with dad, Linden called a doctor. Contact with a machine went badly, and while Oaklynn survived, she wouldn’t be able to work again. But she was alive, and Linden was more than grateful for that. Even if it put her into debt, even if she’d spend years paying it off.

  So back to work Linden went, and an almost year old Ellie stayed home with her grandmother. Linden had to work harder than she’d ever worked before, and mealtimes were thinner than ever. but it was worth it. She was able to provide for them both, the two best girls in panem. Linden counted herself lucky to be able to take care of them. And she would’ve been comfortable doing that forever, if she hadn’t been reaped for 135.

  Well, if she wins, she’ll be able to take care of them forever. So she better win, because who else is going to?

* Token: family photo.
* + gentle, strong , determined
* - singleminded, overworked, easily riled

PENNED BY: RAINY