Two days later, Jonas found himself lying in a large, soft bed surrounded by sheer, white curtains. His first thought was about Gabriel. Where is he? What happened? Where am I? Hundreds of questions were circulating through his head. "Ugh," he moaned, as a wave of nausea came over him. He heard light footsteps, and the curtains around the bed were pulled back.
Jonas gazed into the smiling face of an old lady dressed in a sort of loose tunic and pants, both of which were light blue. Her gray eyes were soft as she smiled tenderly, making Jonas remember the memory of the grandparents.
"Hello, son," she said gently, "You've finally woken up. We were wondering if you were even going to make it! You almost died out there in that cold." Jonas' eyes had widened when she had called him son. His own parents had never called him that with such an expression of total relief and love on their faces.
"Um, where is the baby?" he called out anxiously, worried more than ever for Gabe.
"Oh, he's fine!" the lady exclaimed cheerfully, "He's been staying in the Infants' room. Such a good little boy, always playing and smiling! You can go see him after you get a little rest. By the way, I am called Nurse. May I know your name, as well as the baby's?"
"My... my name is Jonas. The baby is Gabriel," Jonas replied somewhat reluctantly. He didn't know these people, but Nurse seemed nice enough to trust. What kind of name was Nurse, anyways? He dismissed the thought and went back to his own situation. Where were they? Was this Elsewhere?
"Jonas and Gabriel, hmm? Okay, I'll let you rest now. There is water and food on the table, and if you need anything else, just yell for me, okay? Don't worry about Gabriel. I will make sure he is well taken care of." And with another reassuring smile, the lady walked away, leaving Jonas, once again, alone.
"I wonder how the Giver is doing. He must be busy, what with all the people sharing the memories. I can't go back, that's for sure. Poor Lily, Asher, Father, Mother, Fiona..." he choked on the salty tears that were pouring down his cheeks. "Why did I do this?" he asked himself as he understood the true enormity of what he had done. He had given them the memories of all that was bad in the world. Murder, war, pain, hunger- he had given it to them. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't realize!" he sobbed in despair. His breath came in ragged gasps as he saw beyond... Turmoil was everywhere. Screams could be heard in the distance, and a lonely child wandered the streets with steely eyes that looked accusingly in all directions. "Please, stop!" cried Jonas, burying his face into his hands, "I don't want to know anymore!"
Then, he saw the Giver. He was hugging Lily, telling her that they would all get through it together. Jonas really opened his eyes for the first time and saw something in the Giver's pale eyes that reminded him why he had abandoned the one place he had lived all his life and the closest thing he had ever had to a family. Love. Color. True feelings. This was why he had run away. He had wanted them to love each other. He had wanted them to see the reds and blues and greens of the world around them. The hardships they would have to face were worth it, because they would have hope. His community would get better, and they would be happier. He knew they would make it through this misfortune, and emerge as a whole, new community. Jonas also knew that they would have flaws, but that made them all the more human. He passed into a deep, tranquil sleep, resting for the day ahead of him. Jonas knew he would begin a new life, a happy life, where he could give love, and receive it, too. He would aid his new home with all his heart and soul, almost as if to make up for not being able to help his old community. The future looked bright, and smelled like Rosemary.