A/N: I had to write this for english a while back and erm yea. It was a lot
longer than it was upposed to be. this might be a one shot but...i dunno. I
might add more chapters
The sled finally reached the bottom of the hill. Jonas pushed himself up and leaving Gabe on the sled, picked up the rope. Jonas had decided that it would be easier to drag the sled rather than try to balance Gabe on his hip. He knew that he could not keep a firm hold on the baby. Jonas finally looked up. The lights from the city were brighter than ever, and the music was louder too. Jonas was only a few yards from the city limits, and it was maybe double that to the first house. But to Jonas the couple of yards looked like miles. He started to wearily trudge towards the lights, pulling the sled along. His vision had begun to swim due to the tiredness he felt, but the lights seemed to guide his way.
Jonas mentally shook off the feeling of familiarity. How could this place be familiar, he asked himself. The closer he got the more distinct the lights became. It had only taken Jonas a few minutes to reach the city limits, but to him it had seemed like hours. He was not sure he could make it much longer without help. He started walking again towards the first house he saw. He reached the front of a small brick house, and planned to ask for help. He used his remaining strength the lift his arm and push the button he knew was a doorbell. Rosemary Garten, a woman in her mid-thirties, heard the doorbell and wondered who it could be. People rarely ever dropped by her house, let alone on Christmas Eve. Which was why her amazement escalated when she found a bedraggled looking boy, holding onto the rope of a sled with a baby on it, standing on her front step. She figured that they were brothers, since their eyes were both the same curious shade of blue. She just stood there mesmerized by the paleness of their eyes. The baby's eyes were bright and shining, but the boy's eyes were dull, as if the child had grown up much too soon, and had to bear more than any child should. His eyes looked much like her own, same shade and the same pain that was borne of their childhood. But the boy couldn't be that old, could he?
While Rosemary stood there transfixed by his eyes, Jonas could see past the woman to the interior of the house. His eyes widened in shock when his eyes met the scene inside. The waves of familiarity that washed over him were too much. The shock mixed with the exhaustion that was more than bone deep, caused him to faint, losing consciousness. As he fell he barely missed falling on the sled, and Gabe.
Rosemary just stood there in shock for a moment before she realized why Jonas had fallen over, or at least she knew that he fainted. She tried to wake Jonas, but to no avail. She figured that he was unconscious, and realized that she could not leave him out on her step to die. So she put Jonas on the sled and gathered Gabe up in her arms and pulled the sled inside. Once they were inside and Jonas was on the couch rather than the sled, Rosemary went to close the door. Just before she shut the door, Rosemary peeked outside and looked around to make sure that no one was there. She didn't want anyone to know that she was housing a newcomer. Newcomers were forbidden. She just prayed that no one had seen them. She knew that it was silly, and that it was just a story to scare unruly children, but she couldn't help worry about the Hider.
But someone had seen, someone lurking in the shadows. The stranger was a lesser-known member of society, but that was his job, to see everything and avoid being seen at all costs. He smiled wryly; as if understanding some silent joke that only he understood. Which in a way was true, there had always been rumors about his job, even when he was small, but everyone dismissed the job of the Hider as a myth. How wrong they were, so very wrong. The stranger turned and walked away. The stranger was none other than the Hider.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rupert sighed as he poured himself a cup of tea. He was tired of being the Hider, the stranger that no one ever notices. He had always wanted a family, but if no one even thought his job existed, then how could he ever get married? But no, he got stuck with the most isolated job and got a slave driver instead of a boss. He sighed again as he poured the honey into his tea. Why did he have to be the one isolated, he thought to himself. Why was he the one who was assigned a job, rather than picking one. Although he did have the option of being able to chose a job. He just didn't hold on the option. He really should have thought things through. Life did strange things sometimes. Rupert could only wonder why. He sat down in a chair by the fire and became lost in his memories. ~* Flashback *~ Rupert was sitting in the library, studying for his finals. Two people came up behind him; he could feel their presence. "Can I help you?" said Rupert, irritated at being interrupted. "Why yes, you can. We were going through the students at the college looking for someone to fill this job we have. It seems that we have found the one person we need, you," said the man behind him on his right. Rupert turned around, incredulous. He was just about to start searching for a job before he graduated. He couldn't believe his luck, but at the same time he was very suspicious of this man in a dark suit and his partner, a female in a skirt suit. "We feel that you have the right qualities for this job, and we think you can handle the pressure. This is a very tedious job. You require a lot of patience, the ability to know when someone is approaching, and the ability to be unnoticed. Do you think you can do that?" Rupert thought for a moment. He could stay unnoticed; he was most of the time. Yes, he did have quite a lot of patience he just didn't like to be interrupted, and as the men noticed he could tell when someone was approaching. "Yes, I think I can." "So will you accept the job offer?" inquired the female. "Yes, I will." ~* End Flashback *~
Now he wished he had given it some thought. He wasn't so sure he could hide much longer. Although deep down he knew he could, he thought he couldn't hide much longer before, and that was three years ago. Although, he wasn't quite sure why he was watching Rosemary, after all he wasn't on duty tonight. He was fascinated with her; he liked her, a lot. But with his job he knew he couldn't talk to her. So he settled for watching her. In was the next best thing. He thought about the scene he had witnessed at her house tonight. It was a strange one indeed.
He let his mind wander again. He wondered who the boy was, why he had a baby with him, why he looked to tired, why he was there, and where did he come from? He noticed that he had the same shade of eyes as Rosemary. He guessed that the boy was about thirteen, was about 5'2", and was maybe 100 lbs. He looked underfed. Well Rosemary would take good care of him, if no one else found out about him. Rupert sighed once again and headed up to bed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rosemary sat watching the boy for a while, then fell asleep herself. When she woke up it took her a minute to remember why she was on the floor, why there was a strange boy on her couch, and why there was a sled in her living room. Then the events of last night came flooding back. Rosemary figured that she would just let him sleep, while she took care of the baby and went around her normal business. While she was making dinner she remembered with a shock that it was Christmas. When she thought about it, this may have been the best Christmas she had ever had, because she could just have fun. She had spent most of the day playing with the baby. The baby had been saying, "Gay" so Rosemary figured that the baby's name was Gabe, or Gabriel, or something of the sort. She had started to call him Gabe, making the assumption that that was his name.
The next few days passed uneventfully. Jonas still slept, and Rosemary would have taken him for dead if not for the fact that he kept whimpering in his sleep, and that he was still breathing. Then on New Year's day, Jonas finally stirred. He sat up groggily, not really awake. He remembered that before he blacked out there were many people in the room. He wondered where they all went, and what day it was. Rosemary had heard movement in the living room so she went to check on the boy.
"I see you're awake. Do you feel well rested?" asked Rosemary, concerned.
"Er, yeah, but I feel a little stiff. How long have I been out, and who are you?" asked Jonas offhandedly.
"Well I'm Rosemary Garten and you have been unconscious for about nearly a week. I have been taking care of the baby. What is his name? He is so adorable."
"His name's Gabriel, but we, I mean I, call him Gabe. My name is Jonas by the way. Rosemary. Hmm I like it. I thought that name was banned, could be wrong though," said Jonas thoughtfully.
"Banned?" asked Rosemary. She started to laugh. Jonas liked her laugh. "Why on earth would they ban a name?"
"They would ban a name because the person made a major transgression, or were a disgrace towards the community. Like applying for release when you have a really important job to do," explained Jonas.
"Release? What are you talking about?"
"Oh right, I'm elsewhere now. They don't have such things as release. Never mind, it's kind of hard to explain."
They got to talk, and they talked about everything. If there was an opinion on a subject, then the subject was discussed. Jonas was reminded of the conversations with the Giver. Jonas wondered what the Giver was doing right now. Was he still trying to counsel the Chief Elders on what to do about his disappearance? Or was he trying to choose another Receiver of Memory?
"Hey, are you okay? You have that funny not here stare."
"Oh I'm fine. Just wondering about what's going on in the community."
"Community?"
"Yeah. Where I come from there are no cities. There are communities, and the communities don't have names."
"What's it like where you come from?" asked Rosemary, interested.
"It's the same. Everything is the same. We called it sameness. There were no colors, no one had birthdays, they had Ceremonies, and after the Ceremony of Twelve no one knows their age. You don't get to choose your job, it's assigned to you. You don't get to choose your spouse. You can apply for a spouse, then they carefully watch the couple to make sure that they are compatible. They don't even get to have children. You can apply for children. You are only allowed to apply for two children, one boy and one girl. There are elders who choose everything. Once both of your children are grown up, or at least have their jobs assigned, you are send to the House of Childless Adults. Then once you get old and cannot work any more you are sent to the House of the Old," explained Jonas.
"Oh. How old were you when you left? Had you been assigned your job?" pressed Rosemary.
"I was twelve. I had not been assigned. I was chosen. I was to be the new Receiver of Memory."
"What is the receiver of memory?"
"Well, no one had any memories of pain or suffering, we did not know what animals were, we knew nothing of your world. The Receiver of Memory was the only person with the memory of any of that. I was not happy, I was not content with that type of life. I wanted more. So with the help of the Giver I left."
"Who was the giver?"
"He was the Receiver of Memory, before he passed them all onto me. I didn't get all of the memories, so that he can train another Receiver soon. But before I was just thinking about what the Giver was doing now. I was wondering if he was looking for another Receiver, or if he was still helping the community through my departure. When I left, the memories that I had were put into the rest of the community. But, you see that scares people because they knew nothing of pain or suffering. The Giver and I had to bear the pain of centuries. I just wasn't happy that I, I mean the fact that we, were chosen to be put into this pain. I wasn't happy that no one could help to ease the pain or the fact that I had no one to talk to other than the Giver and once he's gone."Jonas lapsed into silence.
"You'll have no one," Rosemary finished for him.
"Exactly, because even if I had gotten a spouse I couldn't tell them how my day was or share my dreams."
"Why would you share your dreams?"
"It's a ritual. At night after dinner everyone describes the feelings they had felt over the course of the day, and in the mornings everyone shares their dreams. But if we dream about a memory we can't share the dream."
"Oh I see, I think."
"The Receiver of Memory is the most respected member of the community, because they have the wisdom of the centuries. Which can be really hard, because you lose all of your friends, and you have no free time."
"Oh. Wow. Am I tiring you out by asking all of these questions?"
"Well actually, yes you are. But it's kind of nice to be able to talk to someone about this. Thanks for listening."
"You're welcome. I didn't have anything better to do anyway. Well I have a guest room, do you want to sleep on a real bed?"
"Oh yes! Could I?"
"Sure, follow me."
"Oh and one last question, who were the people who were here the night I came?"
"There wasn't anyone here. That should be enough questions for one night, good-night," once Rosemary closed the door Jonas muttered, "Must have been hallucinating," and went to bed. As he was trying to fall asleep, he thought that he heard a haunting melody. One that even appeared in his dreams.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rupert had been watching Rosemary since Christmas Eve. He had bee monitoring her movements, and the boy's. He was shocked at how long the boy had slept. When he woke up, Rupert had automatically tried to listen to the conversation. Rupert was amazed. He could not believe all that the boy had gone through. He decided to let the newcomer be. He would wait and see how the rest played out.
Chapter 25
Jonas slept for the most part of the next day. Once he was up, he and Rosemary just had lunch in silence. They still hadn't discussed how he had gotten there.
"I've been wondering, how did you get here?" inquired Rosemary, interested.
"It's a long story. I don't want to take up any more of your time."
"It's okay. I haven't had a vacation from work in a while, so I can afford to take some time off."
"Are you sure? I don't want to impose on you."
"I'm positive," laughed Rosemary. "Really, it's no trouble at all."
"Okay, so what was your question again?"
"Well it was how did you get here, but now I'm wondering why you thought that I had people over the night you got here, and why you fainted."
"Oh. I have no idea why I thought that you had people over. I must have been hallucinating. When I saw into your house I could have sworn that there were grandparents sitting by the fireplace, and that there was a golden dog of the hearthrug. I could have sworn that it was the exact scene that the Giver told me was his favorite. In the memory there was a feeling of love, and I did not expect to find that anywhere else. But it was just a hallucination," said Jonas wistfully, as if wanting the memory to be real.
The sled finally reached the bottom of the hill. Jonas pushed himself up and leaving Gabe on the sled, picked up the rope. Jonas had decided that it would be easier to drag the sled rather than try to balance Gabe on his hip. He knew that he could not keep a firm hold on the baby. Jonas finally looked up. The lights from the city were brighter than ever, and the music was louder too. Jonas was only a few yards from the city limits, and it was maybe double that to the first house. But to Jonas the couple of yards looked like miles. He started to wearily trudge towards the lights, pulling the sled along. His vision had begun to swim due to the tiredness he felt, but the lights seemed to guide his way.
Jonas mentally shook off the feeling of familiarity. How could this place be familiar, he asked himself. The closer he got the more distinct the lights became. It had only taken Jonas a few minutes to reach the city limits, but to him it had seemed like hours. He was not sure he could make it much longer without help. He started walking again towards the first house he saw. He reached the front of a small brick house, and planned to ask for help. He used his remaining strength the lift his arm and push the button he knew was a doorbell. Rosemary Garten, a woman in her mid-thirties, heard the doorbell and wondered who it could be. People rarely ever dropped by her house, let alone on Christmas Eve. Which was why her amazement escalated when she found a bedraggled looking boy, holding onto the rope of a sled with a baby on it, standing on her front step. She figured that they were brothers, since their eyes were both the same curious shade of blue. She just stood there mesmerized by the paleness of their eyes. The baby's eyes were bright and shining, but the boy's eyes were dull, as if the child had grown up much too soon, and had to bear more than any child should. His eyes looked much like her own, same shade and the same pain that was borne of their childhood. But the boy couldn't be that old, could he?
While Rosemary stood there transfixed by his eyes, Jonas could see past the woman to the interior of the house. His eyes widened in shock when his eyes met the scene inside. The waves of familiarity that washed over him were too much. The shock mixed with the exhaustion that was more than bone deep, caused him to faint, losing consciousness. As he fell he barely missed falling on the sled, and Gabe.
Rosemary just stood there in shock for a moment before she realized why Jonas had fallen over, or at least she knew that he fainted. She tried to wake Jonas, but to no avail. She figured that he was unconscious, and realized that she could not leave him out on her step to die. So she put Jonas on the sled and gathered Gabe up in her arms and pulled the sled inside. Once they were inside and Jonas was on the couch rather than the sled, Rosemary went to close the door. Just before she shut the door, Rosemary peeked outside and looked around to make sure that no one was there. She didn't want anyone to know that she was housing a newcomer. Newcomers were forbidden. She just prayed that no one had seen them. She knew that it was silly, and that it was just a story to scare unruly children, but she couldn't help worry about the Hider.
But someone had seen, someone lurking in the shadows. The stranger was a lesser-known member of society, but that was his job, to see everything and avoid being seen at all costs. He smiled wryly; as if understanding some silent joke that only he understood. Which in a way was true, there had always been rumors about his job, even when he was small, but everyone dismissed the job of the Hider as a myth. How wrong they were, so very wrong. The stranger turned and walked away. The stranger was none other than the Hider.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rupert sighed as he poured himself a cup of tea. He was tired of being the Hider, the stranger that no one ever notices. He had always wanted a family, but if no one even thought his job existed, then how could he ever get married? But no, he got stuck with the most isolated job and got a slave driver instead of a boss. He sighed again as he poured the honey into his tea. Why did he have to be the one isolated, he thought to himself. Why was he the one who was assigned a job, rather than picking one. Although he did have the option of being able to chose a job. He just didn't hold on the option. He really should have thought things through. Life did strange things sometimes. Rupert could only wonder why. He sat down in a chair by the fire and became lost in his memories. ~* Flashback *~ Rupert was sitting in the library, studying for his finals. Two people came up behind him; he could feel their presence. "Can I help you?" said Rupert, irritated at being interrupted. "Why yes, you can. We were going through the students at the college looking for someone to fill this job we have. It seems that we have found the one person we need, you," said the man behind him on his right. Rupert turned around, incredulous. He was just about to start searching for a job before he graduated. He couldn't believe his luck, but at the same time he was very suspicious of this man in a dark suit and his partner, a female in a skirt suit. "We feel that you have the right qualities for this job, and we think you can handle the pressure. This is a very tedious job. You require a lot of patience, the ability to know when someone is approaching, and the ability to be unnoticed. Do you think you can do that?" Rupert thought for a moment. He could stay unnoticed; he was most of the time. Yes, he did have quite a lot of patience he just didn't like to be interrupted, and as the men noticed he could tell when someone was approaching. "Yes, I think I can." "So will you accept the job offer?" inquired the female. "Yes, I will." ~* End Flashback *~
Now he wished he had given it some thought. He wasn't so sure he could hide much longer. Although deep down he knew he could, he thought he couldn't hide much longer before, and that was three years ago. Although, he wasn't quite sure why he was watching Rosemary, after all he wasn't on duty tonight. He was fascinated with her; he liked her, a lot. But with his job he knew he couldn't talk to her. So he settled for watching her. In was the next best thing. He thought about the scene he had witnessed at her house tonight. It was a strange one indeed.
He let his mind wander again. He wondered who the boy was, why he had a baby with him, why he looked to tired, why he was there, and where did he come from? He noticed that he had the same shade of eyes as Rosemary. He guessed that the boy was about thirteen, was about 5'2", and was maybe 100 lbs. He looked underfed. Well Rosemary would take good care of him, if no one else found out about him. Rupert sighed once again and headed up to bed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rosemary sat watching the boy for a while, then fell asleep herself. When she woke up it took her a minute to remember why she was on the floor, why there was a strange boy on her couch, and why there was a sled in her living room. Then the events of last night came flooding back. Rosemary figured that she would just let him sleep, while she took care of the baby and went around her normal business. While she was making dinner she remembered with a shock that it was Christmas. When she thought about it, this may have been the best Christmas she had ever had, because she could just have fun. She had spent most of the day playing with the baby. The baby had been saying, "Gay" so Rosemary figured that the baby's name was Gabe, or Gabriel, or something of the sort. She had started to call him Gabe, making the assumption that that was his name.
The next few days passed uneventfully. Jonas still slept, and Rosemary would have taken him for dead if not for the fact that he kept whimpering in his sleep, and that he was still breathing. Then on New Year's day, Jonas finally stirred. He sat up groggily, not really awake. He remembered that before he blacked out there were many people in the room. He wondered where they all went, and what day it was. Rosemary had heard movement in the living room so she went to check on the boy.
"I see you're awake. Do you feel well rested?" asked Rosemary, concerned.
"Er, yeah, but I feel a little stiff. How long have I been out, and who are you?" asked Jonas offhandedly.
"Well I'm Rosemary Garten and you have been unconscious for about nearly a week. I have been taking care of the baby. What is his name? He is so adorable."
"His name's Gabriel, but we, I mean I, call him Gabe. My name is Jonas by the way. Rosemary. Hmm I like it. I thought that name was banned, could be wrong though," said Jonas thoughtfully.
"Banned?" asked Rosemary. She started to laugh. Jonas liked her laugh. "Why on earth would they ban a name?"
"They would ban a name because the person made a major transgression, or were a disgrace towards the community. Like applying for release when you have a really important job to do," explained Jonas.
"Release? What are you talking about?"
"Oh right, I'm elsewhere now. They don't have such things as release. Never mind, it's kind of hard to explain."
They got to talk, and they talked about everything. If there was an opinion on a subject, then the subject was discussed. Jonas was reminded of the conversations with the Giver. Jonas wondered what the Giver was doing right now. Was he still trying to counsel the Chief Elders on what to do about his disappearance? Or was he trying to choose another Receiver of Memory?
"Hey, are you okay? You have that funny not here stare."
"Oh I'm fine. Just wondering about what's going on in the community."
"Community?"
"Yeah. Where I come from there are no cities. There are communities, and the communities don't have names."
"What's it like where you come from?" asked Rosemary, interested.
"It's the same. Everything is the same. We called it sameness. There were no colors, no one had birthdays, they had Ceremonies, and after the Ceremony of Twelve no one knows their age. You don't get to choose your job, it's assigned to you. You don't get to choose your spouse. You can apply for a spouse, then they carefully watch the couple to make sure that they are compatible. They don't even get to have children. You can apply for children. You are only allowed to apply for two children, one boy and one girl. There are elders who choose everything. Once both of your children are grown up, or at least have their jobs assigned, you are send to the House of Childless Adults. Then once you get old and cannot work any more you are sent to the House of the Old," explained Jonas.
"Oh. How old were you when you left? Had you been assigned your job?" pressed Rosemary.
"I was twelve. I had not been assigned. I was chosen. I was to be the new Receiver of Memory."
"What is the receiver of memory?"
"Well, no one had any memories of pain or suffering, we did not know what animals were, we knew nothing of your world. The Receiver of Memory was the only person with the memory of any of that. I was not happy, I was not content with that type of life. I wanted more. So with the help of the Giver I left."
"Who was the giver?"
"He was the Receiver of Memory, before he passed them all onto me. I didn't get all of the memories, so that he can train another Receiver soon. But before I was just thinking about what the Giver was doing now. I was wondering if he was looking for another Receiver, or if he was still helping the community through my departure. When I left, the memories that I had were put into the rest of the community. But, you see that scares people because they knew nothing of pain or suffering. The Giver and I had to bear the pain of centuries. I just wasn't happy that I, I mean the fact that we, were chosen to be put into this pain. I wasn't happy that no one could help to ease the pain or the fact that I had no one to talk to other than the Giver and once he's gone."Jonas lapsed into silence.
"You'll have no one," Rosemary finished for him.
"Exactly, because even if I had gotten a spouse I couldn't tell them how my day was or share my dreams."
"Why would you share your dreams?"
"It's a ritual. At night after dinner everyone describes the feelings they had felt over the course of the day, and in the mornings everyone shares their dreams. But if we dream about a memory we can't share the dream."
"Oh I see, I think."
"The Receiver of Memory is the most respected member of the community, because they have the wisdom of the centuries. Which can be really hard, because you lose all of your friends, and you have no free time."
"Oh. Wow. Am I tiring you out by asking all of these questions?"
"Well actually, yes you are. But it's kind of nice to be able to talk to someone about this. Thanks for listening."
"You're welcome. I didn't have anything better to do anyway. Well I have a guest room, do you want to sleep on a real bed?"
"Oh yes! Could I?"
"Sure, follow me."
"Oh and one last question, who were the people who were here the night I came?"
"There wasn't anyone here. That should be enough questions for one night, good-night," once Rosemary closed the door Jonas muttered, "Must have been hallucinating," and went to bed. As he was trying to fall asleep, he thought that he heard a haunting melody. One that even appeared in his dreams.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rupert had been watching Rosemary since Christmas Eve. He had bee monitoring her movements, and the boy's. He was shocked at how long the boy had slept. When he woke up, Rupert had automatically tried to listen to the conversation. Rupert was amazed. He could not believe all that the boy had gone through. He decided to let the newcomer be. He would wait and see how the rest played out.
Chapter 25
Jonas slept for the most part of the next day. Once he was up, he and Rosemary just had lunch in silence. They still hadn't discussed how he had gotten there.
"I've been wondering, how did you get here?" inquired Rosemary, interested.
"It's a long story. I don't want to take up any more of your time."
"It's okay. I haven't had a vacation from work in a while, so I can afford to take some time off."
"Are you sure? I don't want to impose on you."
"I'm positive," laughed Rosemary. "Really, it's no trouble at all."
"Okay, so what was your question again?"
"Well it was how did you get here, but now I'm wondering why you thought that I had people over the night you got here, and why you fainted."
"Oh. I have no idea why I thought that you had people over. I must have been hallucinating. When I saw into your house I could have sworn that there were grandparents sitting by the fireplace, and that there was a golden dog of the hearthrug. I could have sworn that it was the exact scene that the Giver told me was his favorite. In the memory there was a feeling of love, and I did not expect to find that anywhere else. But it was just a hallucination," said Jonas wistfully, as if wanting the memory to be real.