What if……he had gone in a circle? What if this was his old community, and with the help of him and The Giver, the community changed for the better? If so, where was the Giver, where was Asher and Fiona?
Suddenly, pondering all this, a tall man was towering over him," Can I sit down with you, Jonas?" it was his father.
"N-n-o. No, you can't sit here, Dad," Jonas cried out, tears about to pour out. He didn't think he was ever going to forgive him to what he did to the poor twin. Even if the community did change, he still might have some of his old roots deep inside.
"Jonas. I know what I did was wrong now. First of all, I lied to you, which I shouldn't have done. Second, and most importantly, I killed someone for all the wrong reasons, and I know better now."
Jonas stared at his father uncertainly. They just stood there in awkward silence, Jonas didn't know quite what to say.
"What exactly happened while I was gone?" he finally asked.
"After you left, the memories from long ago all came back to us. We were all terrified at these memories. We had no clue what they meant, and some even gave us terrible pain. The Receiver helped us with these memories, and molded us into a community that you now see in front of you. He even gave us some new memories, some good, some bad; but they all helped into re-building this community in the end." His dad explained.
"Where is the Giver—I mean…the Receiver," The title felt weird on Jonas's tongue, after always calling him the Giver.
Jonas's father looked at him in a sympathetic way, "Ummm Jonas….he died. He had finally given us the last memory we needed. It was called music. Suddenly, we heard beautiful music all throughout the community. Then, a white light surrounded him, and he gracefully fell to the ground. Even though it was horrible tragedy, it was almost like a miracle in a way…"
Jonas's eye filled up with tears. No more Giver? He wish he had found Elsewhere and never saw the Giver again. Anything but this. It would have saved him so much pain and suffering if he had gone his whole life without knowing this. He wanted to curl up and die, right then and there.
He took his father's hand, and let him carry Gabriel. He led them toward his new home.
His mother and Lily were all happy to see them, but he couldn't even muster a smile. His father handed Gabe to his mother, and led him up the stairs to a room with a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf filled with books, and a cushy bean-bag chair.
"This is your room, Jonas," his father said seriously.
"Thanks. I like it," Jonas said, not really meaning it.
"It's Christmas Eve tonight, Jonas. You know what Christmas is, right?"
"Yes, Dad."
"Do you think maybe you would like to come downstairs with the rest of us for a little dinner? I'm sure Mom and Lily would really like that."
"Sorry, no thanks. You have no idea……" Jonas couldn't even complete the sentence. He felt like he was suffocating.
"I understand, Jonas. You take your time getting over this. Seeing as the Receiver trained you and all, I completely understand why you feel this way."
There, he felt it. He felt his father had changed for the better. He was an entirely different person. It was hard to explain, but Jonas felt he didn't seem fake when he said this. He meant what he said, and his words felt genuine. It was the first tingle of happiness he felt since he had gotten here. He had helped him change.
"Yes, we did help him change and many other people, Jonas. Thank you," He turned around to see the Giver's wrinkly face, smiling tenderly. Jonas almost screamed, his heart beating so loud, he wondered if the Giver could hear it, about to beat out of his chest.
"Yes, the beating of your heart is pretty loud, now that you mention it," the Giver said with a laugh.
"This is just a hallucination! I know it! You're not really here! Or maybe all of this is just a dream or something. This can't be real!" Jonas cried out, scared.
"Jonas, this is real. You've missed out on a lot," before he could ask a question, the Giver continued, "and I'm going to fill you in."
