The Continuation of The Giver.
Chapter 1
what was lost is now returned

I would like to say I don't own anything relating to the book the Giver, but I do own the book. The book was written by Lois Lowry, whom I love so much. Please don't sue me. The first two sentences are the last two sentences of the novel. If you never read the book, please do before you read this.

"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."

But it was not an echo. It wasn't even music. It was the shrill scream of a girl. A girl with a familiar voice. One Jonas knew very well. He tried as hard as he could to remember the owner of the sweet voice, but the cold and fatigue was too much, and he let the comfort of sleep envelop him. The last thing that he heard was a girl calling his name, and crying.

"He escaped?"

"Yes, escaped from area 23. He is... or was Receiver Unit 19."

"A boy?"

"Yes, this time it was a boy. This was very unexpected indeed."

"Is he still a danger?"

"No, he is not. But the baby is. We must destroy him."

"NO!" Jonas yelled. He tried to stop the two voices, but they no longer existed. They were only a dream, a dream that had passed. Jonas was sweating, breathing heavily. He found himself sitting in a bed, not a very comfortable bed, but a bed nonetheless. It was made out of a coarse wood and fitted with a thin mattress and a scratchy blanket. The pillow was little more that a few garments tied together. Jonas reached out his hand and felt the bed. It was cool, which surprised him because he was so hot. He then noticed that the room was extremely cold, and the sweat on his body was cooling and causing him to shiver.
Jonas grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around himself, only slightly cutting off the cold. He swung his legs over the bed and jumped to the floor. Unfortunately, the floor was six feet down, and Jonas was not prepared for the drop. He hit the ground like an elephant. And then he remembered the elephant. Its large mass, and thick hide. All of a sudden memories, all of his memories, hit him at once. Pain, pleasure, happiness, horror, every single emotion and color that the Giver had given to him came back at once. Jonas was struck with a sickening feeling, but it quickly diminished with the passing of the memories out from his thoughts.
Jonas sat for a few minutes, trying to recuperate himself. When he felt better, he stood up and started to move around. The room that he was in was very small, about as wide as the bed, and twice as long. Plain wooden shelves lined the walls. All of them were empty, all but one. On one of the shelves lay a key. Not an elegant golden key, not even a simple metal key. The key was just that, a key. Jonas couldn't describe it. It was just there. It had no definite shape, no true color. It was just there. It was ugly and beautiful at the same time. It was intriguing, and Jonas reached over and picked it up. When he held it, a light humming traveled through his body. It felt pleasing to Jonas, and he did not want to let it go, but suddenly, the door at the end of the room, the door that he did not notice, opened.
Light poured in, stinging Jonas' eyes. He lifted his hands to shield them, or at least he tried to. His hands would not move. He tried to look down that them, but he was paralyzed. All he could do was stare at the door and watch. It burned his eyes so much, but he could not even blink. But Jonas soon realized that he could speak.
"Wh.. who's there?" questioned a rather shaky Jonas.

"Why do you ask me this question? You know exactly who I am."

"No I don't."

"Really? Did I not give you this memory?"
All of a sudden, Jonas knew. It was the Giver.
The Giver walked into the room. The lighted dimmed, and Jonas could move again. He stretched his arms, yawned, and cracked his back. Being paralyzed made his body considerably stiff.
"Jonas, don't you even say hello?" The Giver was impatient.

"I apologize. Hello." Jonas felt relieved. He still did not know what was going on, but he still carried the key in his right hand.

"Hello Jonas. I'm glad you made it here."

"Where am I?"

"This was my home once. Before the project. Before me rebirth. Before the Collapse..." the Giver drifted off into thought. Jonas was extremely confused. He also detected a tiredness in the Giver's voice, one that had never been there before.

"Giver, are you all right?"

"Yes Jonas, I am fine. Listen, come with me, there is someone who I want you to meet."
Jonas followed the Giver out through the door, into a room. The room was decorated with paintings, heads of animals, and a fireplace. A wooden table was in the back of the room, and in the corner, a tree decorated in lights. The tree was the most beautiful green, and the lights mesmerized Jonas. He stood there in awe, looking at its beauty.

The Giver looked at Jonas. "That my boy is a Christmas tree."

"What is it for?" Asked Jonas.

"We put presents under it, and once a year we open them and celebrate
the birth of Christ."

"Who is Christ?"
"I will tell you later. Right now, I want you to meet my grand-
daughter."

Jonas was confused. He had no idea what a grand-daughter was. He turned to the direction that the Giver was pointing, and he saw her. Her hair was a dark brown red. Her face was slightly covered in small brown spots. Her teeth and eyes were perfect. It was Fiona.