The Giver Chapter 24
"Giver! Nana! Pop!" cried Gabriel happily. "I thought that you'd never come!"
The Giver opened the cottage door and winter snow and frigid air swept into the room; April, their Golden Retriever, barking joyfully from the kitchen. Gabriel ran happily to his grandparents and gave them a huge bear hug.
"Mother! Dad!" shouted Gabe, "They're here!"
"I guessed as much, all the racket you were making," gently scolded Gabriel's father Jonas, who entered the room through the kitchen.
"Oh, thank goodness you're here, I was really worried about the snow and ice," said Jonas's wife, Rose as she went to hug her own parents, while Jonas went to help who he thought of as his father, Giver, out of his many coats, hats, mittens, scarves, and sweaters.
"Well, it's a pleasure to finally see you all in your new home!" said the delighted Nana from the snowy threshold.
"Well, come on into the warmth, we're letting all the horrible weather into the house," said Rose, beckoning them in
The whole family was led into the house by the exited Gabe and April. Soon everyone was crowed in the kitchen, the men chopping up the many vegetables, while Rose and her mother chatted, and Gabe set the table. Finally, the turkey was ready to stick in the oven.
"Where did you get his oven?" asked Pop in amazement "It's got to be able to cook a turkey in at lest fifteen minutes!'
"Nope," replied Jonas happily "It's an old fashioned one. Takes about an hour."
"Where did you happen to find one this old?"
"Oh, when we moved in with the Giver, it was in the basement, and you know how I prefer the old ways. The newer ovens don't make the food taste as good."
"Well, we'll see about that in a little bit, after presents!" said Pop.
"Finally, I thought the day would never come!" said Gabe thankfully.
"I got you something extra special Gabe," said the Giver "And you too Jonas!"
"What," asked Gabe playfully "A puppy? A robot to clean my room? A robot I can build myself? One of those sunglass movie screens? What?"
Laughingly the rest of the family followed Gabe into the living room. The Christmas tree was on the side, near the window, wearing a collection of different colored lights, candles, and ornaments. There was a fire in the fireplace, and candles were placed in the windows of the small, warm cabin. The family gathered around the Christmas tree and they started passing presents to one another.
"Save my present for last Jonas!" the Giver called.
"Sure, why?" asked Jonas as he opened a present from Rose.
"Just because I want to see your face when you open it!" the Giver said happily "I know that you will love it. It will remind you of your childhood!"
"Oh, thank you Giver! This is the best gift ever!" shouted Gabe as he looked at his gift: a Scene Shifter which can change your walls to look like a beach, or a forest so that you feel like you are right in whichever place your walls depict.
Jonas had finished with all of his gifts and was waiting for everyone else to be finished. The Giver obviously wanted everyone to see what he had given Jonas. When everyone was finished Gabe said,
"Go ahead Dad; we all want to see what Giver got you!"
Jonas picked up his gift and realized that it was unusually heavy for something the size of a loaf of bread. Slowly and carefully he unwrapped the box and finally set it on the floor to see what it was. As he read, he became more and more excited until he finally let it all out with a yelp and knocked over the Giver in the huge hug that he gave him.
"Dad, what is it? None of us know what the excitement is all about," Gabe reminded his father, smiling.
"It's a memory television," said Jonas; still out of breath from excitement "You know how when I lived in the Community I was a Receiver of Memory? Well now I can give my memories to the TV for you all to see without loosing them myself!"
"Well, actually, we don't really know what happened in your other life before we found you," Nana reminded Jonas
"Dad, why don't you show us using the TV? That way we can all see what it was like then, and I want to see my story, you have never really told me in a while, and I want to see myself when I was a baby!" said Gabe, already opening the box to set it up, April barking with all the excitement.
"Well, I don't know," said Jonas nervously "Only Giver and Rose know, and I don't know if I want to..."
"Jonas, you owe them the story. Mom and Dad found you in the hills, and kept you in our house, and even they don't know your story," said Rose comfortingly "It's time that you told them."
The family sat in the awkward silence while Jonas thought of what he should do. Should he tell his story and show how terribly robotic his community had been, or should he keep it to himself and let them live with their loving memory of him, the Giver, and Gabe?
"Fine," Jonas said shortly. "But it will be a long and difficult story for you to understand, and it may be horrible and terrible to comprehend."
Slowly and silently Jonas set up the memory television. The small cabin was so silent that a needle dropping wouldn't have passed unnoticed. Finally…
"Ok. It's done."
The whole family stared at the machine. It was long and metal, the length of a loaf of bread. It had a single lens from which a glowing mist was being projected. They gathered around the strange mist from which surely the picture must be projected on? Jonas slowly and carefully placed his palms on the projector and closed his eyes…
It was a fine December morning and the memory of a plane flying overhead with the accompanying chaos...a ceremony with a boy with strange light eyes, receiving a
diploma and his lifelong position… the teenage boy with strange eyes and an older man with the same eyes talking…memories of terrible things; war, death, blood; another picture of the boys and man, this time plotting something. The boy, stealing food, and then, unexpectedly taking a baby with strange, light eyes also. The boy running away with the baby on the back of a bicycle. The picture that had been black and white suddenly becomes more and more vibrant with color as the boy and the baby get farther away from the Community. Suddenly, a picture of the baby and the teenage boy on a freezing snow-covered hilltop. The baby has a faint blue-purple tinge.
"Come on Gabe," the boy whispers, "We can make it." The boy has the same bluish- purple tinge as the baby. You suddenly realize; the boy has on no shirt, only a pair of ragged shorts, and shoes. The baby, Gabe is wrapped in a wind-breaker that you can only assume is the boy's.
The boy places his palms on the dying Gabe's back. Suddenly you feel warm, as if in the tropics, and then it dies. Gabe has stopped shivering. The boy is walking around as if looking for something, and then shouts:
"I found it Gabe, I found it!"
It is a sled. The boy, with a practiced air gets on, holds on tight to the tiny Gabe, and pushes off. The freezing air rushed to them all at once, and it is slowly taking its toll as they race down the hill. Gabe is shivering again, and the boy is also. Suddenly the boy goes limp, and you wonder if he has died from exhaustion. Then, blackness fills the screen.
Finally, the mist clears, and a teenage girl with straight, dark brown hair and green eyes fills the picture with a horrified look on her face. She is screaming into the night for her parents. A middle aged man and woman, obviously husband and wife, fill the picture, looking frightened and concerned.
"I can't tell if he's going to make it, him and the baby," the woman says helplessly.
The girl screams and tears are pouring down her cheeks as she stares at the boy's broken body, and the blue tinged baby.
"Just call the Emergency Contact, NOW!" the girl shrieks at her parents, frustrated at their lack of reaction.
"I'm afraid that they will be gone by the time the ECon vehicles get here, Rose." The man says trying to hold back the tears at his daughter's agony.
"JUST CALL!" Rose yells, her voice cracking from her tears and rage.
Then blackness again.
Then pure whitewalls rise up. An ammonia smell is coming from somewhere you cannot see. Then a person with a white mask and white lab coat looms into view. Then suddenly excruciating pain hits you.
"He has woken up," the doctor says. "Give him some more pain killers. We are going to put him under for the surgery in a few hours."
You feel a needle in your arm, and then, darkness once more.
The next time you come to, beautiful sun is shining through and you feel its warmth hit you like a heated blanket. You lay there relaxing and basking in it, and then you notice
something. Your leg and arm is raised up, and it has a hard covering over it. Then, your brain starts sluggishly moving. And suddenly, you remember. The sled crashing, the girl crying, escaping and:
"Gabe!" you yell, hoarse from all the days of misuse.
Then, warm arms covering you; it is the girl's mother, but it doesn't comfort you.
"He is fine. You protected him when your sled crashed into the tree. You both are at our house now.
You sigh with relief.
"My husband and I are keeping you here until we can find out who your parents are. We have contacted all local towns about you, don't worry, you are safe here."
"No!" you shout, all relief gone. What you had worked so hard for cannot be taken away.
"What is it, what hurts!" the mother cries out
"Nothing," you say. "Nothing. You just can't let anyone know that we are here. Either that or pretend that we are a family friend's children that you are taking care of. And then Gabe and I will be on our way."
"That is not acceptable. We will take care of you. And why did you run away from your life?"
"I'm really sorry, but I can't tell you. It will put you in a little danger. But I will tell you that I did not do anything illegal, so you will not be punished for housing me and Gabe here."
"I understand," the mother says carefully. "But since you will be here for a while, my name is Jesse and my husband's name is Travis. Oh, and the girl that you might remember, her name is Rose.
"Rose," you whisper quietly to yourself. "Rose." And you fall asleep.
Then, suddenly a memory of the boy and Gabe playing in the snow, the boy fully cured, Rose throwing snowballs at them from behind a tree. They all laugh and then go inside. There you see Jesse and Travis making them all hot chocolate and hot apple cider to take away the chill.
Then… it is Christmas. The boy, Gabe, and Rose all unwrap gifts from Jesse and Travis with zeal. With shouts of delight they run over and hug the mother and father.
A memory of a school building, looming four stories high in the distance, and the boy and Rose walking towards it.
Gabe, in a preschool with other children; crying because his family left him by himself here, all alone in the world.
Then, Gabe and the boy sitting at a table surrounded by Rose, Jesse, and Travis. In the middle of a table is a chocolate cake, with butter cream frosting, and in white icing it says "Happy Birthday Jonas and Gabriel!"
Rose and her parents sing "Happy Birthday," and then sit down to enjoy their slice of delicious cake. Rose disappears for a while, the comes back saying,
"Jonas, Gabe, here are your presents!" and then whispering to Jonas: "Sorry you only have two, we don't have a lot of extra money now, so we spent most of it on Gabe, who wouldn't understand."
Then, Jonas and Rose looking much older, walking down a country road hand in hand; they have fallen in love, you can feel it in the air.
Then, a memory of a letter written, and its address: The Giver. Elderwood Community, Shyton Valley, Wisconsin 13900
Days later, a memory of a letter back and there is excitement in the air. The letter reads that the Giver was so worried about Jonas because he hadn't heard from him in four years, and thought that he hadn't made it. The letter also says to ask his "mother's friend's" family if he could visit, and maybe get a house around there in a few years. The Giver also wrote that all problems had been restored, and some people still couldn't see color, and feel lighter emotions, but that the Community had come a long way in a very short amount of time.
Then, a memory of a door opening, and a flurry of motion as Jonas ran to embrace the Giver, who had come to visit. They are both crying and laughing at the same time. When the Giver sees Gabe, the tears start again. He had thought that Gabe had died, because Jonas had forgotten to put the boy in his letter to him.
Then, more and more memories of Jonas and Rose together, and finally a memory of Jonas slipping a ring on the finger of Rose, in a beautiful white dress, with applause breaking out in the background.
A beautiful memory comes into focus; Rose and Jonas standing on top of a hill, looking at a quaint cabin in the pink faintly glowing sunset and Rose saying,
"Jonas, this is our house, all to ourselves, but, of course, with Gabe and the Giver."
"Rose," Jonas says quietly, "This is the happiest moment of my life."
Then the golden mist grew dim with the picture, and now all that the family could see was Jonas, with tears rolling down his cheek.
By: Morgan Dean