I felt rather than saw the foot of the hill approaching. The sled decelerated and finally came to a stop in the snow on the level ground. My eyelids were too heavy to keep open, so I let them remain closed.
Besides, I felt sure that somebody was waiting for Gabriel and me. That thought comforted me. It warmed me for a brief second as I fell asleep with the echoes of music filling my ears.
I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up, I could feel warmth throughout my previously chilled body. I was in someone's dwelling. Panic suddenly flooded my body. Where was Gabe?
I sprang out of the warm bed without hesitation and scoured the room. My erratic breathing slowed when my eyes settled on the child sleeping across the room.
"Gabe?" The moment I said his name, his pale eyes snapped open and searched for my own. I could feel myself relaxing now that I knew Gabriel was safe.
We had really made it to Elsewhere! I could hardly believe it. Now, the question was exactly where Elsewhere was. I realized that I had no idea where I currently was.
Our journey and the community now seemed like a distant memory, but somehow, deep within me, I could recall every bland detail of my previous life.
Of course, not all of it had been bland and dull. The Giver had added so many exciting and terrifying things to my life.
As I picked Gabriel up and held him in my arms, cradled against my chest, I wondered how the community was handling the memories I'd released upon my escape. Was The Giver helping them deal with the burden? Would this change the community forever? I had so many questions that would probably remain unanswered.
I tried to imagine Lily, Fiona, and Asher discovering and experiencing color for the first time. Unfortunately, they'd have to suffer the things I had as well. My heart seemed to clench into a tight knot; I would miss them, but most of all, I would miss The Giver.
Gabriel's wriggling brought me out of my wondering. I guess I'd been holding him too tightly. Immediately, I adjusted him until he seemed content in my arms.
I padded to the door and cautiously opened it a crack. Though I was positive it was late in the night, lights still flickered in the next room. Though I'd intended to go unnoticed, someone must have spotted me.
"Ah, you're up," a feminine voice said, startling me a little. I was tempted to slam the door and hide, but the woman who'd spoken beckoned me over. I obeyed and took a seat at the wooden table in the center of the vast room.
"It's good to see you're doing well," she said, and she sounded honest. "I was a little worried about you and the little one." Seeming to know he was being talked about, Gabriel made some indecipherable noise from his position on my lap.
"Where am I?" I inquired, studying my dimly lit surroundings. Again, I had so many questions. "Who are you?"
The woman smiled and seated herself across from Gabriel and me. "I am Adeline, and you are in Elyria. You'd call this place 'Elsewhere.'"
My jaw dropped a little in awe, something I may have been chastised for in the community. Thankfully, Adeline only smiled warmly again.
"How do you know that?" I asked. "How do you know I'd call this 'Elsewhere?'"
"I know a lot of things, Jonas." I was dumbfounded that she knew my name. I was sure I hadn't told her. Or perhaps I had revealed my identity in my sleep. I began to panic again. Before I could start my fretting, though, Adeline held up her hands and waved them in a gesture that suggested I should calm down.
She began to explain, "It's hard to know exactly where to start, but I knew you'd be here, sitting in my house. I knew you and Gabriel would come to Elyria.
"I know this because like you, I have a gift. My gift is not to see beyond, as you did in your previous community. My gift is to see ahead, to see what is to come in our future. My dreams sometimes are not dreams, but instead they are premonitions. That is how I knew you would come, Jonas. I knew it before you even knew you would leave the community."
Again, I gaped at her, trying to make sense of what she was saying. The only thing I could manage to say was, "I no longer have a gift. My gift has vanished."
"On the contrary, Jonas, your gift is only growing stronger with each passing second. You will fulfil something like a prophecy. Do you know what that is, Jonas?" Adeline continued, leaning forward across the table to stare deep into my eyes. I involuntarily flinched and drew back, pressing my spine to the back on the chair.
Still, I managed to answer her. "Yes, I do. It's a prediction."
"That's right. Here in Elyria, we all know of the prophecy. Only the most observant and the gifted have noticed the signs though. I am one of few who know that you are the one that will have a tremendous impact on our community."
My head was spinning from the information that was being shoved at me. I honestly didn't understand what she was talking about.
Adeline seemed to notice my confusion. "You still have your gift, Jonas, only now it will work differently. There are memories in Elyria long forgotten, hidden and buried deep within the alleys and nooks and crannies. You will discover these memories. Over time, you will begin to absorb them without even realizing you're doing it. They will come to you, seek you out and crawl into your skin to be stored away with the vague memories you received in your time with The Giver."
Things were becoming a little clearer, but it was difficult to concentrate. Gabe was squirming and whining on my lap.
The woman glanced down at him and smiled sweetly. "He's sleepy, and I think you still are too. Go back to bed, Jonas, and take Gabriel to bed too. We will talk more when the sun rises. Digest what I've told you so far." Adeline scooted her chair out and pulled mine out as well, then led me back to the room I'd awakened in.
She looked on as I tucked Gabriel into his bed and climbed into my own. Only then did she approach me again, gently seating herself on the edge of my bed. I stared at her from where my head was on the pillow. "Don't worry. I won't bother you," she assured me and stroked my hair out of my face. I recognized the gesture as that of love; I imagined that as something a real mother might do to her child. "Sleep well now, Jonas. You have a lot ahead of you in the days to come," she whispered as I snuggled under the covers, now feeling at ease with her assurance.
When I woke up for the second time in Adeline's house, I could smell the mouth-watering aroma of tea brewing. The sun was shining through curtains, causing me to squint in it's vibrant light. I heard a sweet humming from the other rooms and Gabriel's familiar giggles.
I jumped out of bed and returned to the room I'd been in while talking to Adeline the night before. In the kitchen, she was making tea and toast, too. My stomach rumbled obnoxiously. Adeline's humming stopped for a moment, only long enough for her to laugh at my stomach's approval of the food's odor.
"Sit down, Jonas. Breakfast will be ready shortly," she instructed me and then resumed her humming. Gabe cooed from the floor; he had a ball about the size of my fist clenched between his two tiny hands.
I slid into the chair I'd occupied the night before, and soon enough, Adeline was setting plates of food and mugs of tea on the table. I noticed she set it for four. I did a head count; there was only Gabriel, her, and me. As if to answer my confusion, Adeline opened up the kitchen door and shouted outside.
"Jaden! Breakfast is ready!" she called, and soon a girl probably Lily's age bounded through the door. She stopped only when Adeline grabbed her, instructing her to take off her shoes and leave them beside the door. The little blonde did as she was told and then clambered into the chair beside me.
"Hi!" she said excitedly, bouncing in her seat with enthusiasm. "Gosh, you sure slept a long time! I thought you were dead, but Mom said that you were only really tired. Why were you so tired?"
Adeline shushed the girl and set out some honey and butter. "Jonas, this is Jaden, my daughter," she introduced the girl. "Now Jaden, sit down and eat. Don't eat too fast and don't bother Jonas with your chattering."
Jaden huffed but again did as she was told. "Will you pass me the honey, please?" she asked me, grinning. I noticed she was missing a few of her front teeth.
I picked up the container of honey and handed it to her, watching as she mixed some of it in her tea. "Put some in yours. It's good," she told me, and I hesitantly mimicked what she had done, stirring it in.
When I took a sip, I was surprised to find out just how good it was. Jaden looked on with approval. Adeline plucked Gabriel from the floor and sat him down next to her. She coaxed him into drinking milk from a glass and fed him a few shreds of bread.
"Go ahead and eat," she told me. "Help yourself to whatever you want." I obeyed and took a piece of toast, buttering it and adding a little honey to that too.
We ate pretty much in silence, all except for Jaden. She kept chattering on about anything and everything, often stumbling over her words. I cringed a little; that would have been punishable in the community, but it seemed so natural and accepted here in Elyria.
When breakfast was over, Adeline suggested that Jaden take Gabriel outside to play in the back yard. An alarm went off in my and I started to protest.
"It's all right, Jonas. They'll be right there out back." Adeline pointed through a window. I could clearly see the two come into view through the window and was immediately relieved. Adeline scooped up the dishes and quickly washed them, all but my mug and hers. She poured us both some more tea.
"Did you think about what I told you?" she asked me.
I nodded, but I still couldn't make much sense out of it. It all seemed like some tall tale.
"Do you remember Sameness?" she asked me. I nodded again. "Well, long ago, Elyria changed to Sameness. Fortunately, things were quickly put back to the way they used to be, the way things are now. Elyria is slowly transforming back to sameness, I'm afraid. The changes are subtle, but I've noticed them and a few people I know have, too." Adeline paused in her explanation.
"It will be a gradual process, but already it's been changing back to Sameness for years. Now it's becoming more and more noticeable. The transformation's pace seems to have increased and the dullness is coming more rapidly. I have never experienced Sameness except in the visions I've had of the future. Still, I don't know enough about it to stop whatever is happening. I don't even know why it's happening or what's causing it.
"I think maybe one of our Elders is doing this. He is the oldest of them all, but I've never really understood his job before now. Like your older friend was The Giver and you are The Receiver, this Elder is The Taker. He does not give or receive any memories, but instead he takes away what he thinks is bad. He takes away the memories like the ones you acquired from The Giver."
Now everything was seeming to click into place. Now I was beginning to understand what Adeline was saying. Elyria was slowly being robbed of the pain, as well as the joy, that I'd learned from The Giver.
"I don't know if he's trying to do it for our own good, or if he's just selfish and wants to take away what we've always known," Adeline admitted with a sigh. I could understand how she felt. "That is why you're here, Jonas. There has to be some way to preserve Elyria as it is. We have to save Elyria."
"But I thought you said everyone knew about the prophecy. If they knew this was happening, can't they stop it?" I asked.
Adeline shook her head. "Everyone knows of the prophecy, but few truly understand it. It is only the few gifted ones that understand it. The prophecy only says that our community will be in great danger and that a light-eyed boy and his brother would come to Elyria. The older boy would save Elyria and eventually help to rule it and keep things the way they should be."
"It can't be me, then!" Jonas exclaimed. "Gabriel isn't my brother."
"Jonas, look at him," Adeline instructed, pulling me from my seat to look out the back window. "Look at his eyes. They're just like yours."
"I know that, but it doesn't mean anything."
"Trust me, Jonas. You and Gabriel were born from the same mother. Gabriel is bound to you by blood." Adeline stared at me intently. I knew she was serious, but I couldn't bring myself to believe what she was saying was true.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"I dreamt it. In my vision, you met your mother. She asks, 'Where is your brother?' and you say, 'I don't have a brother.' But she knows that she has another fair-eyed son. She has never seen you or Gabriel before, but she knows from her own gifts. She says, 'Bring your brother to me. Bring Gabriel.'"
I stared at her in shock again. My heart was thudding in my chest. Despite my awe, I now believed her. "What are her gifts? When will I see her? How do I find her?"
Adeline held up her hand to silence me. I knew I was asking too many questions, but I was so curious. There was so much I wanted to know about my real mother, my birth mother.
"I do not know that, Jonas. It will be a while. You will just have to wait," Adeline told me.
"Okay," I breathed, a little disappointed. I was about to explode with more questions, but miraculously, I kept them all tightly bundled within myself.
"Will you fulfil the prophecy, Jonas?" Adeline asked, her eyes wide and hopeful. I noticed a hint of something in her tone, something that sounded like she was begging. She seemed so desperate to save Elyria and its people.
I opened my mouth to answer, but a high-pitched squeal came in through the window. Adeline and I gazed at each other for a split second before dashing out the back door. Again, I realized I was doing something I'd have probably been scolded for back in the community. I was running around outside in nothing but my longjohns.
The squealing, which I took to be Jaden, continued, growing louder as Adeline and I bounded towards the girl and Gabriel.
"Jaden, what is it?" Adeline breathed, clearly frightened by her daughter's screams. She was breathing heavily; I was sure it was more from her panic than the short run.
Jaden, dragging Gabriel by his hand, flitted to her mother in a frenzy. "I have to show you, come on!" She looked like she was between hysterics and passing out right then and there.
"Are you hurt? Is Gabriel hurt?" Adeline's hands fluttered over them both, quickly inspecting them for injuries.
"No, Mom! It's just something is in the garden!" the girl exclaimed, now tugging on her mother's arm with her free hand.
I quickly took Gabriel's other hand to steady him. He was teetering helplessly, only balanced by the iron grip Jaden had on his little arm. I hoped she hadn't hurt him, but he seemed unharmed. He only seemed to be a little disheveled.
Once calmed down, Jaden led us down a small path to the garden. She refused to describe what she had seen, and Adeline kept prodding her, asking if it was something harmful.
We all reached the garden, and Jaden ruffled through some of the flowers and other flowerless plants.
"Don't do that! You'll ruin them!" Adeline demanded, but Jaden paid her mother no mind this time. She was crouched, staring mesmerized by whatever she'd uncovered.
As if whatever it was would startle from the plants, Jaden waved us forward with a silent flick of her hand. We all came closer to peer at the rose bush she was kneeling in front of. Gabriel reached out to touch one of the threatening thorns, but I pulled him back to safety and looked over Jaden's shoulder.
Just then, my heart seemed to freeze in my chest. Neither Adeline nor I moved an inch when we caught a glimpse of her daughter's terrifying discovery.
There, right in the center of a healthy cluster of blooms was a single, dull gray rose.