When he first awoke, Jonas thought he was in a dream. Gabriel lay next to
him, slumbering peacefully. The sight that met him was extraordinary. This
wasn't a place he'd ever been in before. It was...different. He could...hear
things. See things. Colors! Colors he that he had to own and keep, colors
that weren't just a vague memory. He could see colors he'd never seen
before, and they looked so beautiful. And he could hear! Music! The
chirping of the birds, the sound of the grass beneath him, the crickets
chirping, oh how wonderful it was to hear the life all around him. Jonas
looked around him in awe and saw the beauty of...of...what was it called again?
The Giver had told him of a place like this, with giant flowers and endless
grass for miles and miles.
Wait...those weren't giant flowers. The Giver had shown him a memory like this before. It was the memory of climbing these...whatever they were called. They had existed long before the Sameness had occurred. But Jonas couldn't remember their names. He tried to call back the memories but then he realized they were scattered to the wind. When Jonas had left the community, the memories hadn't left with him.
They were trees. Giant fruit trees with apples and al sorts of fruits on them. So this is where the food comes from he thought. And then he remembered what the Giver had told him about them. Trees used to be grown everywhere in the past, for many generations back and back and back. Jonas remembered why trees were gone. People cut them down, and used them, trees were growing less and less but the community had exterminated them all. Trees were considered a hazard, they blocked people's way and the children could climb them and fall down and hurt themselves. Plus, trees grew food and the community didn't need food from trees, they had it from the planes. But do they taste different? Jonas thought. He looked longingly to the top of the apple tree and gazed at the apples' bright colors. Jonas felt his stomach grumble and a small spot of drool had formed along the line of his mouth. He decided that he'd take the chance and climb the tree.
It wasn't an easy task. The tree's branches reached as high as the sky itself, and the hard, smooth bark make it almost impossible to grasp. The twigs scratched at his arms as he ascended higher and higher into the sky. Jonas realized that as he got higher, it became colder and just a little bit harder to breath. He looked beneath and his vision spun below his feet. He was overcome by fear as soon as he looked down. Jonas didn't realize he was so high up. Immediately wanted to get down but he looked up and realized he was more than halfway up to the apples. There was no turning back now.
Taking a deep breath and making sure not to look down, Jonas stepped on another branch and proceeded to climb up. The apples were so close to him, so close he could almost taste what they'd be like. Only a little more he thought climbing higher and higher. However, on his attention being focused on the apple, he didn't notice he stepped on a wrong branch. It creaked then split with a loud Snap! The next thing Jonas knew, he was falling to the ground.
The pain he felt was not like anything he'd felt before. It had the sensation of the of him falling off the sled, but the impact wasn't so great. It was worse than the sunburn, much worse. Before he knew it, Jonas landed with a loud Thump! On the grass. Wincing, he tried to stand up but he put his body weight on the wrong arm. He fell back silently cursing his clumsiness at the same time trying not to scream in agony. In the distance behind him, Jonas heard Gabriel crying, followed by a few soft thumps around him. Jonas looked around him for someone to give him relief of pain when he realized there was no one out there. It was just him, Gabriel, and the apples that had fallen from the tree. Jonas laughed despite himself and groped around for something to pull him up. The pain in his arm had subsided slightly, but it still hurt like nothing before. Jonas found a small tree stump nearby and forced his body in an upright sitting position without having to use his damaged arm. He picked up and apple from the ground, wiped it with his sleeve and headed over to the crying toddler.
"What's wrong Gabriel?" he asked taking the small boy into his arms and rocking him slowly on his lap. We're free now, and you can grow up in an entirely new community, a new place. See? Can you see the colors? Aren't they beautiful? Shhh...." he said trying to stop the boy's cries. "Would you like an apple?" Jonas knew Gabriel couldn't eat something so big on his own so he bit off a small piece of the apple and handed to the toddler who ate it greedily. Jonas laughed. "That good is it?" he asked and bit into it himself.
The taste was sensational. It wasn't like the other apples in the community. They tasted...different. Jonas didn't know how, but they did. Perhaps fruits from a tree were...better somehow, better than the fruits the planes gave them.
Jonas grinned as he bit off another piece of the apple and handed it to Gabriel. "Welcome to your new home Gabriel," he said.
Wait...those weren't giant flowers. The Giver had shown him a memory like this before. It was the memory of climbing these...whatever they were called. They had existed long before the Sameness had occurred. But Jonas couldn't remember their names. He tried to call back the memories but then he realized they were scattered to the wind. When Jonas had left the community, the memories hadn't left with him.
They were trees. Giant fruit trees with apples and al sorts of fruits on them. So this is where the food comes from he thought. And then he remembered what the Giver had told him about them. Trees used to be grown everywhere in the past, for many generations back and back and back. Jonas remembered why trees were gone. People cut them down, and used them, trees were growing less and less but the community had exterminated them all. Trees were considered a hazard, they blocked people's way and the children could climb them and fall down and hurt themselves. Plus, trees grew food and the community didn't need food from trees, they had it from the planes. But do they taste different? Jonas thought. He looked longingly to the top of the apple tree and gazed at the apples' bright colors. Jonas felt his stomach grumble and a small spot of drool had formed along the line of his mouth. He decided that he'd take the chance and climb the tree.
It wasn't an easy task. The tree's branches reached as high as the sky itself, and the hard, smooth bark make it almost impossible to grasp. The twigs scratched at his arms as he ascended higher and higher into the sky. Jonas realized that as he got higher, it became colder and just a little bit harder to breath. He looked beneath and his vision spun below his feet. He was overcome by fear as soon as he looked down. Jonas didn't realize he was so high up. Immediately wanted to get down but he looked up and realized he was more than halfway up to the apples. There was no turning back now.
Taking a deep breath and making sure not to look down, Jonas stepped on another branch and proceeded to climb up. The apples were so close to him, so close he could almost taste what they'd be like. Only a little more he thought climbing higher and higher. However, on his attention being focused on the apple, he didn't notice he stepped on a wrong branch. It creaked then split with a loud Snap! The next thing Jonas knew, he was falling to the ground.
The pain he felt was not like anything he'd felt before. It had the sensation of the of him falling off the sled, but the impact wasn't so great. It was worse than the sunburn, much worse. Before he knew it, Jonas landed with a loud Thump! On the grass. Wincing, he tried to stand up but he put his body weight on the wrong arm. He fell back silently cursing his clumsiness at the same time trying not to scream in agony. In the distance behind him, Jonas heard Gabriel crying, followed by a few soft thumps around him. Jonas looked around him for someone to give him relief of pain when he realized there was no one out there. It was just him, Gabriel, and the apples that had fallen from the tree. Jonas laughed despite himself and groped around for something to pull him up. The pain in his arm had subsided slightly, but it still hurt like nothing before. Jonas found a small tree stump nearby and forced his body in an upright sitting position without having to use his damaged arm. He picked up and apple from the ground, wiped it with his sleeve and headed over to the crying toddler.
"What's wrong Gabriel?" he asked taking the small boy into his arms and rocking him slowly on his lap. We're free now, and you can grow up in an entirely new community, a new place. See? Can you see the colors? Aren't they beautiful? Shhh...." he said trying to stop the boy's cries. "Would you like an apple?" Jonas knew Gabriel couldn't eat something so big on his own so he bit off a small piece of the apple and handed to the toddler who ate it greedily. Jonas laughed. "That good is it?" he asked and bit into it himself.
The taste was sensational. It wasn't like the other apples in the community. They tasted...different. Jonas didn't know how, but they did. Perhaps fruits from a tree were...better somehow, better than the fruits the planes gave them.
Jonas grinned as he bit off another piece of the apple and handed it to Gabriel. "Welcome to your new home Gabriel," he said.