Abriana Gonzalez September 30, 2011
English period 5
The new Giver ending
Downward, downward, faster and faster. Suddenly he was aware with the certainty and joy that below, ahead, they were waiting for him; and that they were waiting too, for the baby. For the first time, he heard something that he knew to be music. He heard people singing. Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps it was only an echo.
"Come on Gabe, we here, we're home." Jonas said as the frostbitten air hit his face wickedly. Gabe gave a gurgle of understanding when he saw the little cottage. The lights of the cottage were bouncing off of his eyes, the colors, oh the colors, were breath-taking! All sorts of reds, yellows, greens, and blues, Jonas could even see a star-like shape on a…tree? Suddenly, Jonas was reminded of the memory of family and love. And unexpectedly, he smiled.
This must be some sort of celebration of something. Jonas thought smartly. He picked up his feet through the icy snow and started to make his way to the petite cottage, with Gabe in his arms. Jonas abruptly stopped again, thinking, what if they didn't want me there? After all I don't know them? What if they order me out, and leave me here to die? But Jonas couldn't give up no matter what happened, he had left, and now he needs help, this is the only way to get it.
Very slowly, at first, Jonas began to move forward towards the house. Jonas went even faster when Gabe shuttered against the bitter winds flowing in the cool, dark, midnight blue air. The stars glittered in the sky, flickering, as if they were struggling to stay lighted. Jonas took off at a run towards the house.
Three frostbitten minutes later, Jonas reached the wooden door of the house. He knocked as if someone was chasing him with a knife. Silence followed the knock, until an elderly man came to the door, smiling without a care to the world. "Hello, son, how may I help you?" The man asked politely. Jonas could feel the warmth from the house on his light blue skin. The old man looked down shocked at the boy, seeing how cold he was. "My dear heavens; boy have you anywhere to go?" Jonas shook his head. "Than come inside please don't freeze in this air!" The man pushed Jonas into the balmy home. "Everyone, everyone please, listen, we have a temporary guest here."
"Dad, who is this," A tall light haired man, even taller than the first, came up to Jonas and looked at him, with pale blue eyes, so pale in the firelight they almost looked white.
"Jonas, I'm Jonas." Jonas said shyly. "Please I'm so sorry to intrude, but I have no idea what's going on, or where I am, sirs, please can you help me?" Jonas shivers again, he look down to find that he's still wearing his grey tunic.
"Daddy who's at the door, I head grandfather announce that someone was here." A fairly short girl with auburn hair came through the archway in the hallway. "Hi," She greeted, "I'm Mary Beth. And you are?"
"…Jonas, I'm Jonas, it's…wonderful to meet you Mary Beth," He stuttered at the pretty girl, she giggled. Her long hair was put into a French braid, and she was wearing some sort of cover up, it looked warm and very fuzzy, it was the lightest shad of while Jonas had ever seen. "Where—what is this place is it elsewhere?" He sutured incoherently. The girl cocked her head curiously
"What is Elsewhere? Here this is Nebraska, it's Christmas, what is elsewhere?" Mary Beth asked Jonas. She took a step closer to him, he blushed.
"Elsewhere for me is—well it's death. It's when someone kills you with a needle... it's terrible. But you all believe that elsewhere could be anywhere, where as where I'm from it's…horrible." Jonas shuttered violently, his tunic looked old, frail, and looked as if it was making him colder, even in the warmth of the cottage.
"That's—that's awful! Well if you need a place to stay, I'm sure we can have you stay, at least until we can find your parents." Mary Beth announced, as her father, and grandfather agreed. "Well than it's settled! We'll help you get home."
Jonas hadn't any idea how to put his troubles past this cheery girl. "No I—I don't have a family it's just me and Gabe. It's always been like that. "Jonas murmured under his breath.
"Jona!" The little baby cried, as the adults cooed at him.
"Yes Gabey" Jonas didn't know why he said it, and he didn't care all he knew was that, he felt so happy here. He might be able to have the life he's always truly wanted, ever since he found out what life really was, just a short few months ago.
"Are wes gonna be good her'? Wills us maked it?" Gabriel asked in his small, wavering voice, deprived of sleep, as his back rested against Jonas' hand that was supporting him.
"Yeah, Gabe, I think we're going to be just fine." Jonas said, while Mary Beth batted her eyelashes at him, as he blushed smiling, unable to take his twinkling, sky blue eyes off of her.
50 Years later
A small family and a golden dog sat on the floor in the middle of a large room. "Oh, daddy what's in this one?" A little girl squeaked out of excitement.
"I guess you'll just have to wait and see." A tall male with sparkling eyes, bluer than the deepest ocean said, as he sat down next to his little girl, who was pouting slightly.
"Daddy will you please tell me," the man shook his head. "Fine, I'll get grand-daddy to tell me than."
"As you wish, but my dad, won't tell you anything Delilah, he never told me what I got when I was younger. And neither will my mom."
The little girl laughed at her father "It's worth a shot!" She looked at the smiling aged man. "Grand-daddy will you please—"
"No Delilah, I'm not telling you, just wait until…Christmas than you will know okay sweetie?" The little girl pouted and smile when the old man got up off the couch he was sitting on, and picked her up, kissing her brow lovingly. The adolescent laughed in happiest, just as a loud sound rang over everyone's ears.
"Oh…I'll get it dad." The man with dark blue eyes, and messy brown hair, said to his father.
"No, no Kyle, I've got it." The elderly mad responded to his son.
"Dad—are you sure?"
"Yes I am, and besides, it's for me. I'm expecting someone." The man walked over to the door, and lightly pulled it open revealing another adult. This one was much younger, and had a small family, a lovely wife, and a pregnant daughter, with her husband.
"Gabe, it's so good to see you." The man said as he let the family inside the warm, happy home.
"As it is you Jonas." Jonas smiled, embracing his brother like friend. The pair walked into the house happily chatting about what used to be.
"Uncle Gabe!" Kyle ran up towards the close family friend, as if he were a small boy.
Gabe laughed at the sight, "I've missed you Kyle, and oh hello Dahlia, my how you've grown! I swear the last saw you, you were in three with diaper rash! Now look at you, you're five!" The girl smiled proudly. "Oh hello Mary Beth, I do hope that after being married to Jonas for so long you haven't started to act like him."
Everyone laughed at Gabe's joke light heartedly, while Jonas smirked. "You know," he stared sweetly, "I could easily tell everyone how I changed your diapers, and feed you, and bathed you and—"
"And you know how I could tell them you fell in love with Mary Beth at first sight, and how you devised a plan to get her to 'love you'. When all you had to do was say, "I love you will you marry me…or date me. The date thing might come first, but you're weird so you never know."
Mary Beth kissed Jonas tenderly at this. And everyone awed them, but Delilah was exempted from this as she merely made a kissy faces to the air.
"You used to tell the oddest stories from where you two," Denise, Kyle's wife pointed to Gabe and Jonas, "are from. Where they true?"
The brothers looked to each other and smiled. "Yes," Jonas started, "they were true but …almost everyone got a happy ending."
Jonas looked towards the window, his white-grey hair, once light brown, looked strained in the moonlight the window received; he looked tired and happy, surrounded by all of his family and friends. That night as he laid down for bed, he told everyone he loved him so much. But when morning came for the first time, Jonas didn't awake. He lay still, unmoving, but had a smile on his face.
Christmas morning as little Delilah opened her gift from the now late Jonas, she gasped. Inside was a heart shaped locket, made of pure gold. On the inside there was a picture of Jonas and Mary Beth when her father was just a boy. Tears of joy, mixed with sadness, leaked out of her eyes, as she showed the gift to the other members of her family. She had a faintest feeling that no matter what happen from now on, Jonas, her grandfather, will always live on, just like the Giver in her memories. Quoting her grandfather, "memories will never leave us, and they can change a life." He had said that, just two days ago, at dinner with the family.
Delilah had a feeling there was more to that statement, but until she was older, she would have to put it at the back of her mind. At least until she could understand what he truly meant. She would wait. She would wait to go back, and back, and back.