A shout roused Leader from his slumber. He blinked once, groggily, unsure if the shout had been real or dreamed of. The sound of his front door bursting open answered his question immediately. He made no attempt to get up and confront the intruder, for there was only one person who ever did this.
"Gabriel," Leader yawned by way of greeting.
The light-haired young man grinned. "Sorry for waking you up, but Matchmaker just set the ceremony for next month!"
Leader rubbed his eyes and sat up. "Congratulations," he murmured. "What kind of advice did she give you and Dancer?"
Gabe winked and shook his finger at the elder. "Now, Leader, you know it's customary for no one but us to know." He was right, of course, and Leader acknowledged it with a sleepy laugh. Still, he countered, it was also customary for the general population to ask. It was one of a few traditions regarding life partnership in the Village.
Firstly, the title of 'Matchmaker' wasn't quite accurate; the old lady never had a say in the partnerships. Rather, she gave advice to couples who wished to spend the rest of their lives together, and helped to organize the celebration that would recognize the union. There was always the odd pair who did not take Matchmaker's advice to heart – not that anyone knew what she said, but when terrible, community-dividing arguments broke out between the pair, it was obvious that the situation could have been avoided. She wasn't perfect, but the Village found that couples were better off taking advice from her than from anyone else.
"There must be something you can tell me," Leader pressed. He wasn't particularly interested in what others called 'town gossip', but he liked banter with Gabe. The two had a special connection since Leader had saved his life twenty years ago, after all.
"Well, she did warn Dancer that 'men who refuse to accept their true natures' are dangerous and wily." Gabe scoffed and then paused, worried. "Am I, Leader?" Leader had to laugh.
He was a special case in the community, Gabe was. Ten years after his and Leader's arrival, Leader had decided to give Gabe a new name – Jester, since he brought life to the Village with his antics. But to his surprise, Gabe had staunchly refused, saying he did not want to be defined by one characteristic for the rest of his life.
"But it encompasses everything you are," Leader had protested, but Gabe shook his head.
"Jonas," he had said firmly.
Leader had seemed to withdraw. "That is not me," he'd whispered, "I am Leader."
Gabe had nodded. "I know. But don't you understand? I was only Newchild Thirty-Six when we left, and I'm Gabriel now."
"You were always Gabriel to me," Leader had said quietly. That had made the boy smile, but he hadn't replied. After a few minutes of silence, Leader had straightened up and nodded. "You will keep your name, Gabriel, because it defines all of your characteristics. Be proud of who you are." And Gabriel had smiled widely and thanked him.
Leader looked at Gabriel now, then past him to the window. He was surprised to see that the sun had already cleared the horizon and shooed Gabriel out. "You've made me late for my duties," he scolded gently.
Gabe only laughed. "Part of your duty is to check with Matchmaker for any upcoming ceremonies. All I did was save you the trouble." He skipped out before Leader could reply. Leader shook his head, bemused, then prepared to head out into the Village.
The only significant event that day was a burial for an elderly grand-parent who had suffered a terrible weakness. Leader's presence was required, but it was Preacher who spoke of the old woman's life and how there would be no more pain for her. Leader privately thought that release would have ended the pain a lot earlier; come to think of it, no one in his old community ever got sick. He wondered if this was a better system, allowing the family and community to grieve together. It made Leader very aware of the love between grand-parents and parents and children, but he still found it such a novel concept.
When the burial was over, Leader retired to place in the Village border where he often sat to sort out his thoughts and emotions. It was where he had first entered the Village, and he could still remember the awe he'd felt at all the colours and music and different kinds of people. He had spent the first week recovering with Gabe, all the while praying that this wasn't just a dream. It had taken a few years for him to adjust to this new way of living, without being disciplined for things like being out at night or saying a wrong word. He found it strange, too, how there was no Speaker and how people chose their own mates (partners, he had to remind himself) and had their own children. But he remembered that there were such ways of living that the Giver had shown him.
The Giver...
What would the old man say, Leader wondered, if he had come too? Surely he would have enjoyed it, this freedom of choice. Leader doubted if the Giver had ever really had a choice, especially after Leader's departure. In fact, given how Leader had stolen away at night, the Giver might have been punished. It was a painful thought that only led to more. How did his parents and Lily react? What about his friends, Asher and Fiona? And how would the Council of Elders have treated the Giver? Then Leader had to ask himself if he was at all like the Council of Elders – he was responsible for the goings-on in the Village, after all. But he dismissed it almost immediately because, unlike the Council, he would never give the order to execute someone just because they were old or were born a twin.
It was past midnight when Leader finally headed back to his dwelling, mentally exhausted. He fell asleep instantly, his mind filled with images from his old life, and woke up just as his twelve-year-old self was explaining to a young girl with braids that elephants were real. He found it almost amusing that he was dreaming of his past; it was like the community itself and its strange rituals were just figments of his imagination.
Leader shook off his musings and went about his business in the Village. He formally congratulated Gabriel and Dancer for their upcoming ceremony, something he should have done the day before but put off because the burial had made him uneasy. They both thanked him, and then Leader asked Gabe, less formally, if he would be coming over for dinner later. Gabe confirmed it after a quick discussion with Dancer.
Being able to visit other dwellings in the Village was one of the many things that Leader enjoyed. He'd never done it in the old community, but had seen some such interactions in the Giver's memories. Though he had no spouse or children of his own, Leader somehow felt as if he were part of a large family whenever he shared a meal with other residents. Gabe visited quite often, but Leader suspected that those would become less frequent now that Gabe had his own life partner to think about.
"You stayed out later than usual yesterday," Gabe remarked halfway through the meal. "What were you thinking about?"
Leader chewed a mouthful slowly. "The burial." He had explained to Gabe countless times the process of release.
"Ah." A silence followed. Then, suddenly: "Why don't you just go back?"
Leader frowned at Gabe, but the younger man sported a serious expression. "Go back?" He laughed shortly and without humour. "I can't."
Gabe snorted. "Why not?"
"I'm the Leader of the Village, Gabriel," Leader replied, more sharply than he intended. "I can't just up and leave whenever I feel like it."
"So you do want to go back."
He hesitated. "It was...hypothetical. In any case, I can't leave the Village. What will they do without me?"
"Let's forget about what you can and cannot do for now," Gabe replied. "Do you or do you not want to go back?"
Leader picked at his food to avoid Gabriel's eyes. "What if I don't?"
"Fine," Gabe snapped. "You don't go back. You don't get to know what happened to the Giver. You don't get to see your sister or your friends. And you don't ever know if your leaving made any difference at all in the community."
"The people need guidance," Leader muttered.
Gabe countered, "And they got along just fine before you came along."
Leader shoveled the rest of his meal in his mouth. He tried to think of another argument, but the truth was that he needed to know what happened.
"What are you really afraid of?" Gabe asked softly.
"I can't help thinking about hiding from the search helicopters." Both men were quiet for a bit, recalling the terror of those days. Though he'd only been two years old, Gabriel vaguely remembered their wild flight.
"You're older than when you left. I'm sure you look quite different from when you left. Besides, if your plan worked, then the community won't care about a passing stranger, will they?"
Leader had to agree.