Chapter 24

The Giver

Jonas heard the faint sound of music. He felt half-dead now, at the bottom of the hill, clutching Gabriel. He saw the magnificent house in front of him, to the side, but his injured ankle would not move. Jonas looked and saw his ankle under at least a foot of snow. He had been happy, seconds ago. Now, he did not know if he could go on. Three-quarters of his mind wanted to just stay on his back in the snow. The other quarter of it wanted him to keep moving on, to find help hopefully at the house.

The Giver was right. If Jonas failed, he would die. Jonas felt that he had failed; he couldn't move, Gabriel wasn't moving (or breathing, Jonas feared), and they were just a foot away from the house. Jonas had no more memories left. He was angry with himself and his community. If only there wasn't release, or a Receiver of memory and Giver in his community, he wouldn't be in the middle of nowhere now. If there wasn't release, Gabriel would not have to be here, to escape death. Now, Gabriel would probably die out here, so Jonas had failed to save Gabriel. If there weren't Receivers or Givers, people would accept the fact that they lived in an emotional world; the memories would stay where they had been. Jonas hated his community, and most of all their choices for Sameness.

Suddenly, Jonas knew he had to go on. He had to go to Elsewhere and collect information. He had to help the Giver, who was probably having a hard time keeping the community in order. He had to move on, and then go back, all for one reason: to help people; he had to save them from unfairness.

Covering Gabriel's frostbitten ears, he yelled, so loudly that his own throat and ear drums hurt, "Please help me! My leg is stuck under a lot of snow. I want to stay alive! There's something I have to do!"

Minutes later, a firm grip of a man whom Jonas recognized pulled him out of the snow. Jonas was extremely relieved to be saved. Looking up at the tall man, Jonas let out a scream of alarm.

"Roberto! How could you have come back? You were released, so you died, didn't you?" Jonas asked. The man sighed and scurried off.

Jonas blinked and stared at Gabriel's hair, brushing the snowflakes off it. He must have mistaken the man to be Roberto, one of the Old. He could have sworn that the man did not want to save him. If he'd wanted to, why did it take him so long to save Jonas? It could be because of the weather, he thought, it's a snow disaster out here.

Limping, from his injured leg, he went over to the house, stopping at the door. Music was heard from inside. Jonas peered through the window in the door. He saw a warm fire inside the house, and imagined himself inside the house right now. Going back to reality, he waited a few minutes. When no one came, he was tempted to knock again, but Gabriel suddenly knocked harshly on the door. Crying out, from bruising his knuckles from knocking, Gabriel wailed. Inside the house, a wail came inside from the house! At first Jonas thought it was an echo, but the wail from the house was louder than Gabe's.

" Hello? Please let us in!" Jonas yelled. Listening, Jonas groaned, for the wail from the house was a baby's. His joy vanished quickly, as fast as the sunshine had gone. This problem he had now was an ultimate failure. He was so close to his goal and he would be stuck out here.

" Stop, right there! What's your name? Give me back my sister!" a female's voice yelled staring at Gabriel, as she stood in front of Jonas, when he had groaned.

" Sister? Sorry, but this is my friend, and it's a male. I'm Jonas. What's your name?" he asked, shocked to be spoken to in such an angry tone. The girl was not beautiful like Fiona, and he suspected, not as gentle either.

" Male? Why don't you say boy, Jonas? I'm not joking; give my sister back to me this INSTANT!" the girl, who was wearing a yellow jacket and old trousers, yelled.

Staring at Jonas with dislike, she glared at him. Jonas looked curiously at her. She had a gray-almost-white hair, and dark black eyes, yet she looked to be his height and age.

" Um, this is Gabriel," Jonas said tentatively, for the girl looked as if she was going to strangle him.

" Gabriel… oh no!" she yelped, and ran into the house without closing the door. Jonas supposed it to be her own house, for when he peeked in, photos of her and a baby that looked like Gabriel, were all over the room.

" Excuse me, but what's your name?" Jonas asked. Jonas liked to greet people by saying their names.

" Joanna Smith. What's your last name or surname?" the girl asked as she ran downstairs, carrying a thin baby in a pink bow tie.

"Last name? You mean my number? It's twelve-nineteen," Jonas answered.

Joanne was silent for a moment. Then, she said, " Come in the house."

Jonas went in, and without permission, sat down on a big comfy armchair by the fire. Joanne got up and went to grab a book, from three dusty bookshelves. Jonas was amazed. It was his second time seeing different books, though not as plentiful. He could see that every single book and the bookshelves themselves were all dusty. Only one book on the shelf wasn't, and that was the one that Joanne picked out. She took it and sat on the other armchair across from him, putting down her sister, the baby, as Jonas thought.

" All right then. That's my sister Gabriella. She looks like your friend. What's his name?" Joanna asked Jonas, pointing at Gabriel.

" His name's Gabriel." Jonas responded.

" Right. Don't worry about Gabriel; He'll get along with Gabriella. Anyway, as I was going to say, are you from Rosemary's community?" Joanne asked.

" How'd you know that?" Jonas asked, quite shocked by her question, as he let Gabriel have a tour of the house with Gabriella.

Implying that Jonas's strong emotion meant that he was from Rosemary's community, she went on, " She's my neighbour. Rosemary told me everything about your community: how there is no colour, no emotion, and those rules you have to follow. Um, if you understand what I'm talking about, of course."

Jonas let his mind drift back to his terrible community, and set aside the thought of Rosemary. He said, " I know what you're talking about. That's why I came here. I have to help the others get out of their unfair lives. Even though I'm here, I'm going to go back soon."

Nodding, Joanne responded, " You are the Receiver of Memory, aren't you? Rosemary was one too. Do you know how lucky you are?"

Jonas was confused; how could he be lucky, born in a community like that. Jonas felt his tone grow harsh with impatience to understand, " I don't know what you're talking about!"

" Rosemary tried to save the community from their lives, like you. Unfortunately, she chose the method of sacrificing herself. Sadly, she thought five months was a lot of memories, but it wasn't. The community would not change. The Giver, her own father, did not help, for he was in much grief. Only the Giver knew how to help them. The people with the memories ended up having to keep the memories, and were released," Joanna said.

" Then what happened? Memories are forever, aren't they? There wasn't much point in killing the people with memories," Jonas said.

" That's true, but everyone who dies in your community comes back in here, Elsewhere, alive."

" Alive? How?"

" Well, everything in your community has an opposite. The people who died in your community were reincarnated to their opposite form, thus living in Elsewhere. The people with the memories brought the memories with them and into their opposite forms."

" Opposite forms? I'm not dead right now, so I have to have an opposite form. Do you know who it is, Joanne?" Jonas asked excitedly. He couldn't wait to tell his discoveries to the Giver.

" It is I. I'm your opposite form. Gabriel is Gabriella's opposite form," Joanne said.

" What? How do you know?" Jonas asked, bewildered.

" See this book? It's very thick, because it's a book of memories," Joanne said, pointing at the book she was holding up.

"Memories?" Jonas asked, "What do you mean by that?"

" All the memories of the past. There are two copies of each memory, and one is in Elsewhere; the other in your community," Joanne said.

" I have to tell this to the Giver! I don't think he knows this!" Jonas said enthusiastically.

" Hold on. Do you know how to get back to your community?" She asked quizzically.

" Of course I do. Just go back the way I came. I have to retrace my steps, don't I?" He asked, slowing down as he saw Joanne's blank face.

" No, you can't do that."

" Why not?"

" Even if were prepared, you would be stuck outside forever, without the book," Joanna answered; apparently she had a calm attitude sometimes. Frowning, Jonas tried to grab the book away. Unfortunately, she had fast reflexes as well.

" Gee, Jonas, stop trying to know everything at once! Take it step by step, all right?" Joanne said, with a disappointed tone.

" Let's start over then. What's the first thing I should know?" Jonas asked, sighing as he did so. He had a feeling that Joanne was trying to make him forget something, and succeeding, as he tried to remember the whole conversation with no luck.

"Wrap this around your ankle first," Joanne ordered, " Feel free to bring Gabriel. I have to show you something. "

Jonas caught a roll of sticky tape, catching it the way he did when he caught apples from Asher, and asked, " Do you have a relief-of-pain?"

" No. Think about others here, Jonas. When they got their fingers in the door, do they have a relief-of-pain?" Joanne asked.

" I suppose not," Jonas answered glumly. He felt foolish. Although he felt this wasn't his training, he wasn't supposed to forget his goal.

" That white roll is called a band-aid, or a bandage. It doesn't heal a cut, or an injury; it only protects it from evil microscopic beings called bacteria," Joanne explained.

Jonas touched the "bandage" roll again, and to his surprise, he perceived the word "bandage"! Startled, he tried to see if he had really gained the power again to perceive. Jonas glanced at a small black machine that had music coming from it. Instantly, he perceived "music" and "radio". Smiling in his success, he looked for other things to perceive. Gasping, he found that he could not see colour!

" Um, Joanne? I think I have a problem…" he faltered, to scared for it to be true.

" What's wrong?" she asked as she wrapped the bandage around his ankle, in sympathy.

" Colour… I don't have it anymore," Jonas whispered.

Keeping her face blank, Joanne said nothing. Instead she opened her book, which Jonas perceived to be a "photo album", and showed him a page covered in black and white. He knew they were colours, as he perceived the words of colour again. Red, orange, yellow, blue… the words wouldn't stop coming to him. Yet, he could not see colour.

" You don't see colour, but you can still perceive what it is," Joanne started and Jonas gave a quick nod, " Did you have any other abilities to see colour? If you are perceiving words, you should be able to see colours; it comes naturally with the words."

" Well, I did have the ability to of seeing-beyond. Before I knew about the memories, I could see a colour… red," Jonas answered.

" All right. I'm going to get your ability back for you. Now, come into this room. You waste time too much, Jonas. Every time I say something that's new to you, you think of something else. I have a lot to say about you and your community!" she scowled.

" I don't know. I wasn't like this before or after I had the memories. I think that I'm just not myself when I know there's something, but I don't have it. I'm implying the memories." He said, feeling tears wanting to come.

" Don't cry. Follow me." She said.

Jonas picked up a surprised Gabriel and was just about to go into the hallway, following Joanne, when he saw Gabriella, looking bored.

" Joanne! Aren't you going to take Gabriella?" Jonas called. He did not want to leave Joanne's sister alone. When there was no answer, except a shout to call him to come, Jonas placed Gabriel beside Gabriella and went off to Joanne.

" You're forgetting your sister!" he said as he saw Joanne standing outside a brown (though all Jonas saw was black) door.

" I'm not forgetting anything," she answered and pushed him through the door. Befor Jonas could do anything, she slammed the door shut, and he heard the door's lock clanging shut. " Stay in there." She called, and Jonas assumed the door to be hideously thick, as her voice was very faint as she said those three words.

Jonas didn't sees anything. He felt solid ground, but could see nothing but white. Apparently, the other side of the door was white, to his eyes. Jonas saw his own body, but except for a gray-covered book, there was nothing else in the room. He couldn't believe that he had gotten himself into a trap. Jonas was thankful that he had the sense not to bring Gabriel. He was beginning to wonder if Joanna and he were true opposites. For one thing, Jonas would never leave a younger person alone, or forget about them. Sadly, Joanne did the exact opposite of him. He was glad that he hadn't twisted his ankle again when he fell onto the invisible surface. Joanne was exceptionally strong.

Jonas stood and walked over to the book, which was on the left side of the room. He picked it up and sat down again. It was the book of memories. Sighing, he flipped the book open to the first page and started to look the pictures, which he perceived to be photos. The first page contained a table of contents, which Jonas was delighted to find, had a word section at the back, explaining various abilities. Going to the page where it said "Seeing-Beyond" in Black bold letters, Jonas began to read aloud, "Seeing-beyond is the gift of being able to see things which none can see in a certain region or place. Seeing-beyond is ESP*(extra-sensory perception). Only a tiny fraction of the world has the ability to see-beyond, but it is an estimated amount, for people were shunned from the rest of the region they were living in. Most communities took away people with ESP, as they were supposed to be "dangerous". However, it is stated in some communities, that if one with Seeing-beyond is spotted, they must be killed, or released (as some communities like to call). *ESP is an abnormal way to acquire information."

He stared at the book. The open page of written work stunned him. Was his community well known, to have such information about it in a book? Did they honestly kill those with Seeing-Beyond? He shook his head. He was still alive now, and the community Elder had even told everyone his ability. The book didn't really say that his own community killed those people. A cold thought entered his mind. Joanne seemed to know a lot about his community. In fact, she seemed very eager to know everything about it. If they were REAL opposites, then if she killed him, she would be in his community! It made sense, if people from his community could come to this world, it could be the exact opposite!

Jonas suddenly knew he had to find out more. He looked for a section on blank-faced people. Reading aloud, he began, " Blank-faced people, or poker-face people, are known to be assassins in Elsewhere. They are paid to kill others, with trickery such as lying and pretending." The section was very short, but Jonas saw that Joanne could have been lying. Why would she shut him up in a room? Suddenly, Jonas flipped to another page, about ability-takers.

" They are people possessed with the ability to take away special abilities, such as ESP, hence the name." Jonas felt his heart and mind race, though he'd only read a sentence. Perhaps Joanne had taken away his ability and planned to kill him? He found himself shaking his hand and trying to turn the thoughts away. He couldn't. Jonas flung the book away from him toward the right side of the room. A sudden sound of something falling caught his attention and he noticed a thick wad of cash in a paper bag had just fallen out of the book. Labeled on it were " To my dearest Joanne. Head for Rosemary and Jonas."

Rosemary's name caught his attention. Shocked, by his name as well, he began to cry in fear. He didn't want to die. In an instant, all his hatred turned to the Giver. He was the only person that said her name, Rosemary. He was lying to him, Jonas, the whole time. Apprehensive now, Jonas pounded on what he thought was the door, in the vast whiteness surrounding him. Angrily, he felt tears run down his face, but he continued to pound every corner of the whiteness, until his arm was bruised, and bits of black were on his arm: drips of black… drips of red. Jonas could have rejoiced to have his ability back, but he was far too intent on saving himself. Suddenly, his mind went to Gabriel! Did Gabriel have ESP? Would he be threatened or killed?

Using the last bit of strength in both arms, he gave one last attempt to get out. Suddenly, he felt his Seeing-Beyond grow clear as ever! He saw the door, its brass doorknob inches from him. His arms were too tired to move as deep gashes of blood dripped in the room. Glancing in the room, he could see a thick white mist covering the objects. Using his anger as a new way to gain clearer sight, he did so. Now noticing that there was a drawer, a wardrobe and a desk in the room (including a lamp), he decided that he must have hit one of the sharp corners of each object.

Feeling that Gabriel might die, Jonas would not give up. He surged to the door, had it open by using a lock-picking strategy he found in the depths of the photo album, and ran to the living room. There was Gabriel, being fed an orange substance by Joanne, when Jonas pushed her away.

" What are you doing? I told you to stay in there! I'm helping you to get your ability back!" Joanne said crossly, as she tried to hide pieces of carpet that had gotten stiff looking when the orange substance had fallen on them.

" You tried to poison Gabriel! Are you an assassin? Why did the Giver lie to me?" he yelled, holding up the stack of bills.

" Give that back," Joanne said, still keeping a blank face.

" I won't. Answer my questions!" Jonas yelled.

" I'm an assassin, that's right. The Giver lied to you, because you could see-beyond. People should see the same things, not different things. Anyway, if you want you can keep the money. I won't kill you. I didn't even kill Rosemary, though the Giver told me to. The Giver's not a bad person. He just wants you and Rosemary back. By your anger, I think you've forgotten that when you kill someone here, they go back to your community," Joanne answered.

Jonas remembered the way the twin baby had died. He felt angry that there was death, but glad that there were ways to get people to other places.

" I don't want to die though…" Jonas faltered.

" Exactly. I won't kill you. I want you to stay here, away from that reckless community," Joanne said.

"Then why did you try to get Gabe to my community?" he asked, remembering how the boy in the war memory died.

" He doesn't have your ability. He doesn't need to know this stuff," she retorted.

" You're not helping me! I need to save my community from this disaster!" Jonas yelled, desperate for an answer that would help his goal.

Joanne shook her head and said, " There's no point. You can't. I lied to you."

" There has to be a way!" he yelled and saw a few syringes that looked like the one in the video of the twin. He grabbed Gabriel and three of the syringes.

"What are you doing?" Joanne asked.

Without answering, Jonas ran out of the house, managing to swipe on a fur coat from Joanne's coat stand. Running for around two minutes, he looked around. Joanne wasn't following him, which he was pleased to know. Putting on the jacket and wrapping Gabriel in it, he walked a few more steps, before deciding to stop, for he couldn't see anything, through the thick snow, and he hoped that this was where a house would be, in the middle of nowhere.

" Rosemary! Rosemary! Come out now!" he yelled as Gabriel shifted under the jacket uneasily. Through the thick snow, he saw a shadowy figure walk toward him.

" Who are you?" the figure asked, and Jonas implied that it was Rosemary.

"I'm Jonas from the community. We have to go back, Rosemary!" he called out.

" That's right, I'm Rosemary. Why do we need to go back?" she questioned.

" I think I have a way to get the memories to people. You see, I'm the new Receiver of memory! I managed to escape from the community with out killing myself," he answered, yelling to be heard over the wind.

"You have found a way? It's amazing that you were able to come here!" Rosemary said, " I would like to see my father again."

" I 'm sure he would too. Here, inject this syringe," he commanded and handed her the fatal syringe. Injecting it into Gabriel first, he was shocked to see the horrible jerking motions, although he'd expected it. Gabriel was lying limp in his hands, now Jonas prepared to inject himself. Tears had formed in his eyes from fright, but he injected himself anyway. With his last look at Elsewhere he saw that Rosemary had injected herself already.

The next moment, Jonas found himself lying on the ground, with the two other escapers beside him. Blinking slightly, he got up. Jonas surveyed around. He appeared to be in the Giver's room, but the Giver was not here. He was glad to see the familiar mountain of books. Rosemary and Gabriel were also standing up as well. He picked up Gabriel and motioned for Rosemary to follow him out of the Annex.

Now that he could see Rosemary clearly, she was dressed in an old tunic and had the same gray eyes. All three of them had gray eyes. They tiptoed out the door, when the attendant seemed to be busy in her towering paperwork. Once they were outside, Jonas brought out his book or photo album, and began to tear out all the pages. He flung the paper into the air and smiled as he saw the memory in the paper fly out and zoom away, in to the early morning sky of his community.

He was sure that the memories would stay here forever, as he suddenly saw Lily, riding her new bicycle. He saw wisps of memories zooming a landing on her.

"Jonas! It's great to have you back! I'll go get Mother to make a birthday party for you. I was worried about you. You must have been gone for an entire week!" Lily chattered, seeing Gabriel, " Aw, it's Gabriel! I hope he remembers me! I know! We should have a campfire instead of a party. Then tomorrow we can have go horseback riding! After that we can buy a camera and take millions of pictures!"

" Lily, can my friend Rosemary come too?" Jonas asked.

"Of course! We should have a party for the WHOLE community!" Lily cheered!

Jonas couldn't help it. He laughed and hugged Lily, placing Gabe on the ground beside him. He was sure that wherever the Giver was, he would also see colour again. Jonas knew that his community must have all the memories. He was interested on how his new life would turn out to be, as he walked home with Lily and Gabriel, with Rosemary waiting beside the Annex for the Giver, he hoped they felt what he felt: love.