The Giver was in the Annex room when he had first heard the terrible news. Sure, they had talked about the plan before, but he never thought it would happen like this. Jonas hadn't come to see him before he had left, and he knew that the inevitable was coming. The memories would come back to the people of the community. He hid his face in his hands and bit back a sob. What had caused Jonas to take such drastic measures? He knew that he needed more strength and courage for the journey that he was taking. If the Giver was being honest, he wouldn't be surprised if Jonas did die during the hard journey. He didn't want to lose another child because of the memories.
Just as he was expecting, his speaker came on asking him to meet with the Chief Elder. He sighed and voiced his assent. Not five seconds passed before a panicked lady came in, fear in her eyes.
"Jonas, the new receiver of memories, has disappeared. Three people have already been affected." The Chief Elder shook while she spoke. He could tell that one of the three was her. The Giver wondered how long it had been since she had gotten the memory. The Giver hushed her and sat her down in the chair that Jonas had occupied every night the past year. He held back another sob.
"Describe to me the memory you are suffering from," He quietly commanded, not able to keep the sorrow from his voice. "I might be able to find you a way to cope. After all, Jonas and I have dealt with the memory before."
The Chief Elder's voice shook with fright and despair as she described the memory that had fallen upon her. "I am chained, and in pain. There is a boy beside me, and he begs for the water that is sitting beside me. When I find a way to get it to him, he dies."
The Giver clasped his hand together trying to think of a coping mechanism that the Elder could use to her benefit. The Giver himself had trouble with that memory. The Giver had a terrible moment of guilt, it was him not being able to deal with the pain that caused Jonas to have this horrible memory in the first place. Sure, he would have had to have given him the memory at some point, but he was planning to put it off as long as possible. The Giver pushed the thought aside, and, again, tried to think of ways to help the Elder in her suffering.
"Perhaps, if you tell me how the memory makes you feel, it will get some of the weight off your chest," He suggested. He knew if he did that, it would do nothing for him. But, the people in the community had always known of sharing their feelings with the people in their dwellings, so he figured it might help her, doing something that she had always believed in.
"Well, I have heard tales that every Chief Elder has heard of times when there was what was called war. The had described it as a bad thing, but I would have never have thought it as bad as that- that- memory," She confessed.
The Giver didn't have any way to console her of this fear she held. The memory was what it was and he couldn't take the pain of it away from her. So, he did the only thing he could and gave her a look of empathy.
"I'm sorry that you have had to suffer a memory with that level of unpleasantness. It is unfortunate that anyone has to suffer this, but now that Jonas has gone, there is nothing I can do to keep others in the community from getting memories. You have to understand that not all of them are unpleasant, though. There are some that can be very enjoyable."
"Yes," The Chief Elder said, straightening her clothes, "that brings me to the two other people that have been affected thus far, Jonas' mother and father."
The Giver didn't know what to think about that. From what she was hinting, they didn't get a bad memory it was a good thing, too, for he didn't want anybody remotely related to Jonas to suffer in any way. After so long talking to the boy, he was just like family.
"If you could bring them in I might be able to help them." Even if I don't think it's a matter that should be 'fixed'. He continued in his head, bitterly. They were the ones that left them to feel all of the pain that has ever been experienced in the world. They were the ones that had to suffer the loneliness of not being able to tell anyone of the suffering they endure. There were some days that he couldn't even get up because the pain was so bad, it would have been much better if he could at least tell others of the horribleness.
"Of course," she muttered. She went outside, supposedly, to get the parents of Jonas.
Even after all of that time with Jonas, he didn't know the names of his parents, so, when the couple walked in with tear streaked faces, he had the misfortune of asking for names. He sat them down on the bed that his apprentice had sat on for a year, and began the necessary talk.
"If I could please know your names," he commanded. He didn't want to go through this whole ordeal without even knowing their names.
Jonas' father went first,
"I am Magnus." The Giver considered the name for a moment, it was an unusual name in the community, but not unheard of.
"And, I am Olivia," The woman said. "We don't mean to intrude, but we heard Jonas was gone. I remember ten years ago when…. She-"
"Rosemary, if you are going to speak of her at least use her name."
"Um… when Rosemary was released, the memories were scattered throughout the community. We were fortunate enough not to get any of the memories that time, but this time, both of us seemed to get the same one," she said with a significant look at Magnus.
"Can you please describe this memory to me?" he asked a bit impatiently. When he first told Jonas that he would help the community he didn't expect it to be like this; he didn't expect to be this bored whenever someone shared the memories in the only way that they could describe it. He didn't expect the justifiable anger towards the whole of the community. But, he had promised Jonas that he would help the community get through their crisis.
"Well, there were people all gathered around a tree, from young to old. They all seemed to be unwrapping things with different amounts of enthusiasm. But, there is an emotion there I just can't understand. And, now I'm starting to feel it throughout the day. I am feeling it for Jonas," she clarified.
It made sense to the Giver, that that memory would go to Jonas' parents. The people he had been raised by since he was young. He felt love for his parents, so naturally, the memory saturated with love would go to the people he loved.
"And," she said with a tear rolling down her cheek, "we would just like to know where Jonas is, and if he's…" she couldn't finish her sentence because she started sobbing. Her husband was by her side and tried to console her wife, even though he had a few tears rolling down his face as well.
Finally, The Giver spoke up, "What you are feeling is love, and because of your love for Jonas, you are now concerned because you don't know of his wellbeing. To be honest, I don't know what has come of Jonas. I know he has gone to look for Elsewhere, but I don't know if he'll make it alive," he said sadly. Jonas had grown as close as a son to him, but now he would never see him again.
"He took a new child with him," Magnus spoke for the second time. "I am a nurturer, and I had taken home a fussy new child for a couple of months. This morning when we woke up, he was gone along with Jonas. Do you have any idea why he would have left with the new child?"
The Giver distantly remembered Jonas mentioning a new child a few times. "Well, had you said anything that might have caused him worry?" he asked. He was anxious to hear the answer, for this might be the reason he left without warning.
"I mentioned that the new child was going to be released the next morning."
Ahh, so that's what happened.
"I believe he ran away because he didn't want the new child to be released. You see, he watched a video of you releasing one of the twins that had been born. He was very distressed that night. In fact, he stayed with me."
Magnus buried his head in his hands. He understood that he was the one that caused this misfortune, even if he couldn't have stopped the new child from being released.
"I will be completely honest with you," started The Giver, "He was planning to run away to Elsewhere during the ceremonies. I'm sorry to tell you this, but it was only a matter of time until Jonas left. I can only hope he gets to Elsewhere safely," The Giver said with a hint of grief. The parents nodded and went back outside. His job was now done. Soon, there would be even more people he would have to help, but, for now, he was done.
Stay safe Jonas. Was the last thing he thought before he fell asleep from grief.