Karissa Dwyer
Jonas woke up in a cold sweat. He was in a room he couldn't identify. All he can hear is people talking outside his door and a machine right next to him. He tried to move but the pain was so unbearable that instead he screamed. Some women in a white coat came in and reached for Jonas.
She gave him a needle and went fast asleep. He later woke up to strangers talking in his room. The sun was shinning into the windows. The lady in the white coat was talking to Jonas, but Jonas couldn't respond. He could only listen. It seems that a couple found him and a baby on a top of a hill freezing to death. He almost died of hypothermia and the baby almost died of starvation. She also said that they will be sent to a family to stay with for a while.
"What is this place?" questioned Jonas. It kind of looked like the house of the old. The only thing in the room was a small chair, couch, a bed, side table, and a bunch of machines. It scared Jonas a little bit to be in this place. The lady said it was a hospital. But Jonas only looks in confusion. She wasn't surprised to see that he didn't know where he was.
She said it was a place where people are taken to when they a sick, hurt, crazy, or dieing. It made sense to Jonas, which is probably why it scared him a little. She said that the family is coming later to take them to there temporary home. "What is your name?" asked the Lady. "My name is Dr. Kaplan."
"My name is Jonas and the baby is named Gabe" whispered Jonas. Dr. Kaplan smiled and asked him to come with her. He didn't want to be rude so he followed her, but in a thing called a wheelchair. Jonas giggled the whole time he was in it. It reminded him of his bicycle. She brought him to a room with only a desk, two small chairs and the walls covered in awards.
Jonas noticed he can see colors. Especially the color red. He remembered the first time he seen color, in the apple. He loves the color red, so unique. "I know were you are from." said Dr. Kaplan. She knew about there community. About them only seeing in black and white. About sameness. Everything. She told him everyone knew about there community. It was an experiment. She said the community was going well until people like Jonas came and started to ask questions. She said that since Jonas left, the community will be destroyed. By there own people.
Jonas was so distraught to hear that his community was a fake. Joke. Dr. Kaplan asked if he was okay. He didn't answer. She then put him back in the wheelchair and brought him back into his room. He was welcomed by a couple with Gabe in the woman's hands. They told him that they are there foster parents and there names are Kathrin and Dave.
They handed him an outfit with a pair of socks and sneakers. The shirt was red and the jeans were blue. But it wasn't a tunic. It felt good to Jonas that he had now has color in his wardrobe. They signed him out of the hospital and brought him to the car. The car looked just like the Giver described it. The car was as blue as the river boarding the community. This is probably the same kind of vehicle the Giver was supposed to take for the runaway plan.
It took about an hour to reach there destination. They went into there home. Kathrin was holding sleeping Gabe in her hands. It was beautiful. The house was neat and smelled like baked goods. The couple told Jonas to follow them upstairs. They first went into a room with a crib and a lot of comfort toys. Kathrin laid Gabe down and then showed Jonas to his new room.
It was red and blue. This made Jonas love colors more. There was a bed, dresser, desk, and tons of books. It wasn't as many books as the Giver, but enough to make Jonas satisfied. He was tried so he asked if he can go to sleep. They said yes and told him to get a good night sleep.
He woke up to the smell of coffee. He heard Gabe crying, so he went into his room and brought him downstairs. He walked into the kitchen and seen Kathrin cooking. Jonas has never seen anyone in there own home cook before. It was fascinating. He handed Gabe to Kathrin and the sat next to Dave. He handed Jonas a thing called a newspaper. It was called Petoskey, Michigan News. On the front cover was a picture of his old community. Under it was a paragraph.
In Michigan, the "perfect community" is a failure. Yesterday everything went down hill when the community destroyed itself over memories. The new Receiver ran away a couple days ago after he found out what "release" was. This has taken a toll on the community because of all the memories being left behind. Fortunately there were survivors and will be taken to Petoskey, Michigan until farther notice. Unfortunately, most members are dead counting the Giver.
Jonas couldn't breathe. The Giver. He loved the Giver. He doesn't even no if is family is still alive. Or even Fiona. That is his first love. To get over the hurt in his heart he asked if he could play in the snow. They said it wasn't a good idea because the snow and the cold is the reason of his sickness. Instead they said he can watch TV. He had confusion in his eyes, so Dave told him to follow him.
Dave brought him to the living room. He told him to sit down. Jonas sat down and watches Dave press a button on some kind of remote. Jonas was surprised to see the screen in front of him come alive. Jonas watched TV until Dave came in and told him it was dinner time.
Jonas was shoving his food into his mouth until he heard the doorbell ring. Kathrin went to the door with Gabe on her hip. She opens the door to four familiar faces. Jonas's Mother, Father, Lily, and Fiona. Jonas ran to them on the verge of crying. They all started to cry also. Jonas life feels as complete as a four coarse dinner. Jonas now can finally tell them why he made the choice to leave. All is well.