Hi! I wrote this story for my english class last year after reading The Giver and I decided to share it after finding it! It's really short, but we did have a word limit, which I didn't respect anyway.

Of Cities and White Rooms

Jonas woke up to a blinding light. People were talking and moving around him. In the background, he could hear a machine beeping. When he tried to sit up straight a hand pushed him back down. The moment his head hit the pillow, he was stricken a splitting headache and couldn't keep a groan from escaping him. A nursed rushed to his side, giving him a shot. Suddenly, the pain subsided and everything started to seem distant. Slowly, he felt himself slip into unconsciousness.

Upon hearing the beeping sound again, Jonas forced his eyes open. "He's awake!" he heard a male voice say. "Stay with us, boy," but the young boy could already feel his eyelids dropping. As much as he willed himself not to, he fell into unconsciousness again.

The third time he woke up, he was alone in a small, white room. Aside from footsteps down the hallway, everything was quiet. Turning his head to find out what the shuffling next to him was about, he saw who seemed to be a 15 standing from a chair next to his bed. When he tried to sit up, the stranger told him to lie back down and then proceeded to call a nurse. A tall woman in a white uniform came into the room. After letting her check on Jonas, the stranger pulled her aside to talk to her privately, before coming back to him.

Sitting back in his chair, he asked, "How are you feeling? I'm Julian, by the way. Austin and I found you unconscious on the outskirts of town with a baby and brought you to a hospital."

It took a couple of minutes to let the information sink in. Jonas then slowly replied, "I fell a little weak, but I'm better, thank you. I'm Jonas. Where are we?"

"We're in a hospital."

"But I meant, what community are we in?"

"What do you mean by community?"

"By community, do you mean city?" asked Julian uneasily, "because, in that case, we're in the city of Baltimore in the state of Maryland. Where do you come from?"

Opening his mouth to talk, Jonas couldn't find the words to answer the question. "Memory loss?" suggested the other.

"No, of course not. It's just that I can't quite find the words to describe the place I am from."

After a minute of silence, Julian broke the silence, "The doctors say that if you're strong enough, they can release you in three days."

Jonas started to panic. They were going to release him? Why? They said he was getting stronger. What if they already release Gabe? Where is he right now? Memories of his father releasing the smallest twin flooded into his mind. "Are you okay?" asked Julian, breaking his train of thoughts.

"Why would you want to release me? Where is Gabe?"

"You seem to be healthy; I don't see why they wouldn't release you, let you leave the hospital." Jonas relaxed. "Is Gabe the baby that was with you?" Jonas nodded. "He was in intensive care unit for a couple of days, and was brought to a room with other babies. He's fine." Seeing the younger boy lie back down, he continued, a small smile gracing his lips, "I'm going to call Austin and fill in some paper, then we can go see him."

Jonas nodded again satisfied with that answer. He then began to look around and observe new things. For the first time since he arrived here, he realised he could see colors. All of them. He also noticed all of the tubes and wires connecting his body to graphic and beeping machines at his bedside.

Jonas glanced towards the other boy, who seemed actively in a conversation with someone through a mini wireless intercom. He took in all the differences between him and his people. The first thing he noticed was the hair. Where they all had the same, short and neat haircut, Julian had longer, dark brown hair that fell onto his forehead, giving him a messy look. The next thing he noticed was his clothes. Instead of the typical button down jacket everyone wore, he was dressed in rough dark blue, ripped pants and a thick yellow sweater with a hood. He also didn't have a nametag, like others did. Even the nurse had one. Jonas had so many questions. This place was so different, so unsetting, yet, he couldn't possibly wait to discover this new place, to discover elsewhere.

"Hey, how are you? You look so tired." Jonas' head shot up at the new voice. Austin, he guessed. Another boy, a little taller than them, maybe a 16 or a 17, entered the room, a sympathetic smile on his face. He gave Julian a brief hug before engaging into a small talk with him. While they discussed quietly, Jonas starred at the new-comer. His hair was similar to Julian's, but slightly lighter and shorter. He wore the same kind of clothes, once again, without a nametag.

After a little while, the second boy turned towards Jonas with a warm smile and said, "Hi, I'm Austin, I was with Julian the day he found you and Gabe. We're done with the papers; do you want to go see him?"

Jonas nodded and was helped into a wheeled chair. As Austin pushed him through the hallways, he started to worry about Gabe's condition. He could hear Julian laughing quietly in the background, but he was so engrossed in what could have happened to Gabriel that it sounded distant. He had learned to care for the One. He knew that what he felt for him was love. The only supposition of losing him pained him. "We're here" broke his train of negative thoughts.

In front of him, tucked in a warm blanket was Gabriel, pale eyes closed tightly and sleeping soundly. Smiling, Jonas knew everything was going to be okay.

The end.