"Uh, well… I used to live in a place that's… different, I guess…"

"Different?" I was irritated that Jonas would use such a vague term… there's lots of different differences. Well, they have to be different to be different… you know?

"Yeah… different. We didn't have any feelings or memories… like a sliding down a hill, sunburn… or love."

"What? No love? How did families live then?"

"Out of routine. Two people, a male and a female, would get put together by observing people; it was called the Matching of Spouses. They would get assigned a dwelling, and every year at December, there would be a ceremony. This was when family units could get assigned a 'newchild.'"

"Assigned?"

"Yes, assigned."

"In health class at school, we learned-"

"We didn't know about that. At all."

"Oh."

"Anyway, every December, newchildren would become a One, a One would become a Two, a Two would become a Three, a Three would become a Four, and so on. There would be ceremonies every December that ages… I guess it's sort of like a birthday. Every time you age, you would have to perform an action that shows growth. For example, Fours, Fives, and Sixes would have jackets that would zip down the back, so the children would help each other dress and learn interdependence. Sevens would get their own front-buttoned jacket. Eights would get jackets with pockets, showing that they are now mature enough to keep track of their own belongings, and as an Eight, you would start volunteering hours. Nines would get their own bikes, which was the excitement to every Nine. The female Nines would also get rid of their hair ribbons. The Tens would all cut their hair, however, Elevens were different. Nothing much would happen. But almost everything would happen once you're a Twelve. Twelves would get assigned an assignment… their job, basically."

"You get your job when you're twelve?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Wow."

"Yeah, there were many jobs… such as Nurturer, Instructor, Fish Hatchery Attendant, Director of Recreation, Doctor, Engineer, Caretaker of the Old, Birthmother-"

"Birthmother? Does that mean they have to…do it with random people?"

"Gabe!"

"Anyway, what were you assigned?"

"I wasn't assigned."

"You weren't?"

"No. I was selected to be the next Receiver of Memory."

"What's that?"

"It's the person that keeps the memories of the old times alive, but sometimes through physical pain, which we had never felt before."

"Oh."

"And through the last Receiver, who allowed me to call him 'Giver,' I learned about so much more than I had ever hoped. Giver was more of a father to me than anybody.

"Through Giver, I learned to see colors, to hear music… to feel love."

"Wow."

"Yes. Wow. That's why it broke my heart to leave him."

"Why did you have to leave him?"

"Because you were going to get released."

"Released? What's that?"

"You get injected… and then you die."

"Die…?"

No words were needed. By running away from the life that Jonas had always known, he had saved me. Why? What was so special about me? Why did he save me? Why did he leave his old life to save me?

As if reading my thoughts, Jonas said gravely, "Because leaving a young baby to die is cruel. Because my community had to be shaken to reality. Because children means life. The only way for life to go on is to keep children alive. Besides, I would have starved, staying in the community."

Starved of knowledge, probably. Suddenly, I had an outrageous idea.

"Let's go back."

"Back? Why?"

"I don't know… just to see what it's like there now?"

"I don't know, Gabe…"

"Yeah, come on! Also, you owe it to me to show me your old life."

Silence.

"I guess…"

Well, that was easy.

I ran up the stairs.

"Hey, Gabe, where are you going?"

"What do you think, Jonas? I'm packing!"

"Packing?"

"Well, duh! If we're going on a trip, we have to pack!

"I suppose…"

"Come on! Let's leave tonight!"

"Tonight?"

"Yeah, tonight!"

"Tomorrow morning," Jonas said, with an air of finality that told me not to argue. He probably just wasn't ready to meet his family and friends again.

"Tomorrow morning… I'm not ready yet… I was lonely there…"

"Lonely?" But he was surrounded by such an orderly community with so much people… how was it lonely?

"Only Giver and I had feelings… everybody else thought nothing about anything."

"Well, you could go back and see Giver!"

"I don't know…"

Why? How come?

"Ok, anyway, tomorrow morning, Jonas, OK? Promise?"

Jonas looked up at me and smiled, showing the happiness that he had never known before.

"Promise."

Ok... still not very good... and not going to get very good, i'm afraid.

oh well. enjoy when you can.