Kapitel 100: The double meaning

The speech resonating in District Eleven's plaza provoked profound disgust and mistrust among the population. The words they heard seemed to be a manipulation by the Capitol, an attempt to brainwash them and convince them to accept their oppression.

The people present in the plaza, those who personally heard Jacob's original speech about 15 hours earlier, remained silent as their hearts pounded. They knew something else was happening, that Jacob Barber was preparing something more than just a winner's speech.

While some residents of District Eleven felt deceived and frustrated, those who were present in their homes could feel the tension in the air. Their hearts beat strongly, their minds filled with questions, and the fire for rebellion grew.

Although disgust and mistrust spread throughout District Eleven's plaza, those who personally knew Jacob Barber knew he was not on the Capitol's side. His actions, his preparation, and his silent determination had convinced them that Jacob was preparing a rebellion, an uprising against the Capitol's oppression.

Silently, they looked at Jacob with eyes full of hope and trust. They knew he was different, that he would not surrender to the Capitol, and that he was willing to fight for the freedom of all districts.

As the speech continued, people's disgust turned into a spark of rebellion. The seed of resistance was being planted in the hearts of those who listened attentively and could see beyond appearances. Jacob Barber was preparing the ground for a revolution, and those who truly knew him were ready to join his cause.

While some mistrust and disgust persisted among some, the silence and latent strength in the hearts of those present in their homes testified to Jacob Barber's power to awaken the spirit of rebellion. Rebellion was brewing in District Eleven, and Jacob was the leader who had come to unite the people and guide them towards freedom.

"They're going to kill him..." An elderly middle-aged woman watching Jacob's speech was extremely nervous.

"No, considering the tension in the surroundings, they would have already cut off the broadcast of this speech. Besides, no one in the plaza is reacting to Jacob's words." A more perceptive woman knew that something more complex was happening.

"Manipulation?"

"Interfering with the broadcasts in each of the homes in District Eleven? That's impossible. It would require maybe thousands of people monitoring and a technology that none of the districts have."

...

"In no way can it replace your losses, but as a token of our gratitude towards our allies, we would like each of the families of the District Eleven tributes to receive a month of our earnings every year for the rest of our lives."

The crowd could only respond with muffled screams and murmurs. What Jacob had done had no precedent. They didn't even know if it was legal. Probably he didn't know either, so no one openly asked him.

As for the families, they just stared at us in a state of shock. Their lives had changed forever when they lost Thresh and Rue, but this gift would change them again. A month's worth of tribute earnings could easily provide for a family for a year. As long as they lived, they would not go hungry.

The mayor stepped forward to give each family a plaque so large that both had to leave the flowers on the ground to hold it.

The ceremony was about to end, and Jacob, filled with tranquility, was about to leave when he saw Katniss looking in the direction of Rue's family. She must be about nine years old and practically an exact replica of Rue, in the way she stood with her arms slightly extended. Despite the good news about the earnings, she wasn't happy. In fact, she looked at them reproachfully. Was it because I didn't save Rue?

"Katniss, let's go back," Jacob said, trying to maintain his hold on her.

"No, I haven't apologized yet." Katniss let go of Jacob's hand and ran forward.

"Wait, please!"

"I want to express my gratitude to the District Eleven tributes," Katniss said. She looked at the pair of women on Thresh's side. "I spoke very little with Thresh, but he was my ally, and we were both willing to give our lives for each other. That's something I will never forget about him. For his strength.

For his refusal to play the Games by anyone else's rules but his own. The career tributes wanted him to ally with them from the start, but he didn't want to and chose us instead. I respected him for that."

For the first time, the hunched old woman, 'is she Thresh's grandmother?' lifted her head, and a shadow of a smile played on her lips. Now the crowd was silent, so silent that Katniss wondered how they achieved it. They must all be holding their breath.

She turns towards Rue's family. "But I feel like I know Rue, and she will always be with me. All beautiful things bring her to mind. I see her in the yellow flowers that grow in the meadow near my house. I see her in the mockingjays singing in the trees. But most of all, I see her in my sister, Prim."

"Thank you for your children." Katniss lifted her chin to address the crowd. "And thank you all for the food."

"No, don't be fools." Jacob, with a somber expression, advanced towards Katniss and firmly held her hand, pulling her back.

What happens next is not an accident. It's too well-executed to be spontaneous because it happens completely in unison. At least half of the crowd presses the three center fingers of their left hand to their lips and extends them towards me. It's our District 12 salute, the final goodbye Katniss gave to Rue in the arena.

But Katniss unleashed something more than a simple farewell, but an act of dissent from the people of District 11. This is exactly the kind of thing that should be appeased!

"Damn it!"

Now Katniss, who was dragged by Jacob into the Justice Building, if she hadn't stopped, if she hadn't left those flowers. Instead, from the deep shadow of the gallery, she sees it all.

A pair of peacekeepers dragging the old man who whistled to the top of the stairs. Forcing him to kneel before the crowd. And shooting him in the head.

The man just falls to the ground when a wall of white-uniformed peacekeepers blocks our view. Several of the soldiers have side-mounted automatic weapons as they push them back towards the door.

"Don't touch me!" Jacob told a peacekeeper who was about to rough him up, causing him to stop.

Haymitch, Effie, Portia, and Cinna wait under a static-filled screen mounted on the wall, their faces tense with anxiety.

"What happened?" Effie approaches, running. "We lost the signal right after Katniss' beautiful speech, and then Haymitch said he thought he heard a shot, and I said that was ridiculous, but who knows? There are lunatics everywhere!"

"Nothing happened, Effie. It was just the sound of an old truck." Jacob said with indifference but with growing anger from within.

"You two, come with me."

"What happened?" Haymitch asks with a serious expression.

Then, Jacob recounts everything that happened and how Katniss personally intervened at the end of the speech with those words that unleashed all the people's fire in the main square.

"I was supposed to fix things on this tour. Make anyone who had doubts believe that I acted out of love. Calm things down. But obviously, all I've done today is get three people killed, and now everyone in the square will be punished." Katniss said, "I feel so sick I have to sit on a couch, despite the exposed springs and stuffing."

"You're always so reliable and so good, Jacob." Haymitch says, so smart about how you present yourself to the cameras.

"I feel like we don't have a damn month left." Jacob muttered under his breath.

"I messed everything up, I'm so sorry." Katniss felt sick, but it was because of her own intervention.

Although Jacob had a plan, he also had to win the hearts of the other people in general and show that he was willing to give everything. He did the same as Peeta, but Jacob had another meaning, the purpose of winning the hearts of the district with the largest population, District Eleven.

"I have nothing more to say. You've been informed, so I guess you should have a thorough conversation with Katniss..." Jacob said as he left the place.