"Now the landscape was changing. It was a subtle change, hard to identify at first. The road was narrower, and bumpy, apparently no longer tended by road crews. It was harder, suddenly, to balance on the bike, as the front wheel wobbled over stones and ruts.
One night Jonas fell, when the bike jolted to a sudden stop against a rock. He grabbed instinctively for Gabriel; and the newchild, strapped tightly in his seat, was uninjured, only frightened when the bike fell to its side. But Jonas's ankle was twisted, and his knees were scraped and raw, blood seeping through his torn trousers. Painfully he righted himself and the bike, and reassured Gabe."
Jonas looked down at his injured knees, at his pants now torn and damp with his blood. Upon seeing his own blood, Jonas suddenly remembered a painful memory the Giver had once given him: an elephant with its tusks torn off. The elephant was bleeding; he was in pain. Jonas grimaced as the sliver of the memory passed through his mind and he looked down at his knees once more. They changed.
Jonas had been able to see and keep colors ever since he had stopped taking his pill, but now those memories, the memories of colors, bright and dark alike, were fleeting as he and Gabe left the community further and further behind. Jonas could almost feel them slipping away and out of his mind, traveling back to the community. For a split second, though, Jonas remembered the word the Giver had used for this color: red. Then Jonas remembered. Red apples. Red blood. Red hair. Fiona. Jonas felt a sharp pain in his chest as he remembered Fiona and Asher and all that he had left behind. I'm doing this for them, Jonas thought. He tried to make himself become selfless and trust in the decisions that he had made, but he simply could not. All he could think about was the pain that he felt in his ankle and knees and the loneliness of leaving the only home that he had ever known.
"Plane! Plane!" Gabriel cried out, pointing his skinny little finger at the now dark and cloudy sky. Jonas instinctively ran for cover under a large tree and thought cold, frozen thoughts, all the while waiting to hear the terrifying engines of the search planes, yet he heard none. After waiting a seemingly endless minute, Jonas dropped his concentration on his memories and looked up. He wondered if Gabriel had really heard or seen a search plane, as the infant often did when Jonas did not.
As Jonas looked up, he suddenly understood Gabriel's innocent confusion. A small creature was flying over the trees where he and Gabe were hiding. The creature landed on the ground in front of them and twitched its small head back and forth, staring at Jonas and Gabriel with its little grey eyes. Bird, Jonas remembered.
Jonas reached out a nervous and shaking hand, making a small clucking noise and rubbing his fingers together, trying to lure the bird closer. The tiny bird twitched its head back and forth some more, and then hopped closer to Jonas and Gabriel. Gabriel found this funny and began laughing hysterically at the odd creature.
"Bird, Gabe. It's a bird." Jonas said in a seemingly endless and wonderful trance. He could not stop staring at the tiny bird, who was not more than three feet away from his outstretched hand. Suddenly, Jonas forgot where he was and the stinging pain in his knees and ankle. He forgot of how he missed Fiona and Asher and his family. All that mattered was this little bird. Then it changed.
The next moment, it was gone. The now red bird hovered above Gabe and Jonas and then flew off, back in the direction of the community that Jonas and Gabe had left far behind. The bird began to sing in a lonely yet beautiful way. Jonas jumped to his feet, forgetting all pain. He grabbed Gabe and held him tightly to his chest. He ran in the direction of the bird, determined to follow it wherever it went. He followed it all throughout the night, and when morning came and it was no longer safe to travel, the small red bird sat casually in a small tree, which Jonas and Gabe soon came to rest under. Neither the bird nor Jonas or Gabe moved until nightfall.
The instant it became dark, the bird stood up, ruffled its feathers and began to hover over Jonas and Gabe once more, awakening them with his sweet and sad song, wanting them to follow him once more. This cycle became regular for the bird, Jonas and Gabe. By day, the three would rest. By night, Jonas and Gabe would follow the bird.
The bird soon lead Jonas to the top of a small, snow-covered hill, with a small red sled perched on the top of it. At the bottom of the hill, Jonas saw his own community and heard joyful music flooding throughout. He saw Fiona and Asher and Lily, all dancing and playing joyful music. He saw his mother and father talking and laughing, having what seemed to be a good time. Jonas grinned at the small red bird, who then flew across the gathering of familiar faces and came to rest on an old man's arm. Jonas looked at the face of the man and smiled. The Giver smiled back. Jonas sled down the hill and was suddenly embraced and welcomed by many now grateful people, including his friends and family, all whom Jonas now knew truly loved him. Looking over the shoulders of those embracing him and back to the Giver, he smiled as a sad, yet joyous tear slid down his face. The Giver did the same, and mouthed one small word to Jonas. Goodbye.
Goodbye was all Jonas could mouth in return. With that, the Giver left and headed toward the place where releases were often held. Jonas knew that the Giver was through. He was through with pain and sorrow and wanted to be with his daughter. Jonas knew that that was the last time he would ever see the Giver.