“I call him my friend, but in the last year it's seemed too casual a word for what Gale is to me. A pang of longing shoots through my chest. If only he was with me now! But of course, I don't want that. I don't want him in the arena where he'd be dead in a few days. I just... I just miss him. And I hate being so alone. Does he miss me? He must.”

“I just... I just miss him. And hate being so alone. Does he miss me? He must”

“I want to ask him where that kitchen is. Where he's from. But he seems guarded. Or maybe it's me. Maybe making friends is a specific skill, and I missed the lesson.”

“I brought you this." Gale holds up a sheath. When I take it, I notice it holds a single, ordinary arrow. "It'ssupposed to be symbolic. You firing the last shot of the war.""What if I miss?" I say. "Does Coin retrieve it and bring it back to me? Or just shoot Snow through the head herself?""You won't miss." Gale adjusts the sheath on my shoulder.We stand there, face-to-face, not meeting each other's eyes. "You didn't come see me in the hospital." He doesn't answer, so finally I just say it. "Was it your bomb?""I don't know. Neither does Beetee," he says. "Does it matter? You'll always be thinking about it."He waits for me to deny it; I want to deny it, but it's true. Even now I can see the flash that ignites her, feelthe heat of the flames. And I will never be able to separate that moment from Gale. My silence is my answer."That was the one thing I had going for me. Taking care of your family," he says. "Shoot straight, okay?" He touches my cheek and leaves. I want to call him back and tell him that I was wrong. That I'll figure out a way tomake peace with this. To remember the circumstances under which he created the bomb. Take into account my own inexcusable crimes. Dig up the truth about who dropped the parachutes. Prove it wasn't the rebels. Forgive him. But since I can't, I'll just have to deal with the pain.”

“I miss him so much, but it's confusing, because I missed him long before he was dead, and that's the bitch of it all. I missed him long before he was dead.”

“I just...I just miss him. And I hate being so alone.”