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For anyone who’s read The Giver and felt unsatisfied with the ending. |
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A Tree Above the Rest Gabriel had not cried during the long frightening journey. Now he did. He cried because he was hungry and cold and terribly weak. Jonas cried, too, for the same reasons, and another reason as well. He wept because he was afraid now that he could not save Gabriel. He no longer cared about himself. *** The early morning sunrise blinded Jonas’s eyes before he could even open them. This time, it was not raining. He had grown accustomed to the lulling sound of rain hitting the already wet mud as he began to drift off to sleep at night, and the sound of birds chirping while rain poured down his face in the bright mornings. It’s the only thing he could look forward to. However, this morning had begun differently. As Jonas opened his eyes, he heard the sound of a quiet hum. The unfamiliar sound mixed with the cool breeze that brushed against him made his body shiver. Before he could check to see if Gabe was still asleep, Jonas felt a sharp pain travel throughout his entire leg. It didn’t come from his throbbing ankle. This time, it came from the calf of his left leg. There was a small, yellow-black, creature that hummed around Jonas’s leg, desperately trying to move. It had thin wings and the feeling of its tiny limbs scratching along his calf made him wince. Jonas couldn’t recall what sort of animal this was– or even if it was one– at all. It was surely smaller than his pinky finger and was now attached to his body by what seemed to be a third leg. The uncomfort, despite the pain, that the creature had caused is what made Jonas swat the furry thing away. As this all went down, Gabe had heard the ruckus and was now awake. Jonas knew this because the sound of Gabe’s crying filled his ears once again. Hunger, thirst, and the yearn for warmth is what drived Jonas to be strong enough to get up and travel once again. It had felt like hours of countless searching and walking. Jonas had found a small pond with a tree planted not so far beside it. He placed Gabe below the tree, letting his little body rest as he went to examine the water in the pond. Jonas scooped some up in his bare hands. It was clear, besides tiny specks dotted throughout the water. It had likely come from him, knowing that it had been what seemed like weeks since he last showered. As he brought the water closer and closer to his face, a gust of wind blew from behind him, making his brittle body tremble. The place he had encountered was nothing short of a verdant oasis. Lush, green plants bloomed all over while the sound of rustling leaves brushed against the trees. And there were a lot. The sylvan of trees stood tall as one stood out from the rest of the forest. By the entrance of the woods, a small fruit tree that bore only bright red apples grew, a particular shade of color he once loved. Jonas realized that he had gotten carried away by staring at the red apples, something he thought he would not have to encounter along his journey. He looked down into his cupped palms and saw that with all the time he spent looking at the trees, the water had started seeping through cracks of his hands. He reached his hand back into the water, cupping up another two hand-full of water for him to drink. It tasted refreshing. A warm feeling of comfort he had not felt in a while washed over him. Jonas had now decided that this would be the very place that he and Gabe would be resting at until his ankle would properly heal. Jonas had found food, water, and now a place where he could feel warmth. A few days had passed now, and Jonas and Gabe were doing a lot better. The only movement Jonas had been doing was getting up every morning, midday, and night, to grab apples from the fruit tree and bring Gabriel to the pond. There was no longer pain in Jonas’s sprained ankle. Over the span of those few days, Jonas would wake up in the morning holding Gabe tight in his arms, and bring him to the pond while he waited for him to wake up. Once he did, Jonas would cup his hands into the pond and give Gabriel a sip of water. Then he would carry him along to the fruit tree as he stopped to grab a few apples. They would stand beside the forests’ entrance as Jonas would peep around to see if any wild animals inhabited the area. There were never any. Jonas had started teaching new things to Gabriel, realizing that he had not spoken to him since they had last seen the planes fly over them. He would teach him about color while pointing to the colorful flowers that grew around them, and the names of the animals they had seen along the way. Jonas had even taught Gabe the syntax of how phrases were formed along with much more. Until one day, Gabe had begun to speak. “I,” Gabe mumbled. The sound of his voice saying anything besides “wah” or “oo” left Jonas’s agape. He stared intently at him. “What is it, Gabe?” “Want..-” he paused, slowing down his speech. “home.” Jonas continued to stare at him, not being able to believe what he was hearing. Gabe’s voice trembled as he spoke, uncertainty following throughout it. But it was clear what he wanted. Jonas pulled him close, pulling him into a warm embrace. “We’re almost there.” Jonas had no idea how far they had traveled. There was no way to tell other than by getting caught or stepping foot into Elsewhere. There was only one path he was willing to take, but before then he would need to become more familiar with the alien territory. *** Jonas carried along Gabe with him into the sylvan of trees he had, once, vaguely admired. The evening had hit by then and he was feeling somewhat more confident in his traveling skills. He would point to new things he had not taught yet to Gabe and began to explain them. “Over there is a plum tree,” he pointed, faintly smiling. “Ooo,” Gabe commented as he giggled. Jonas moved closer to the fruit tree, examining its plums, and taking a bite out of them. A pleasantly sour taste filled his mouth, making him bite for another mouthful. “They’re okay to eat,” he explained. “You can have as many as you want.” He placed the plum in front of Gabe’s mouth, letting him take a large bite out of the seemingly small plum. Jonas grabbed a few more plums from the fruit tree, preparing for the walk back to the entrance of the woods he would be taking later. He continued to feed the rest of the plums to Gabe, leaving none to be left behind in his hands as the sun began to set. They would walk for a few more minutes down a new path Jonas had found, with a ring of flowers that grew miraculously in a circle. He tried his best to describe each flower he saw to Gabriel, who unreasonably did not want to remove his head from Jonas’s chest. “This one’s got a yellow center with white petals,” he said to Gabe. When Gabe did not respond with his usual, “Ooo,” Jonas sought to think that he was tired and began trying to comfort him. “I’ll start my way back to the entrance, alright?” He looked around himself, the sun had almost set by then, and the only source of light was a gloomy moon. “Gabe, I know you are tired- but can you help your brother, Jonas, find his way back?” Again, Jonas was left with no response from Gabe. Confused, Jonas carefully pulled Gabe away from his chest, and let out a petrified scream. Red, blistering hives scattered all across his face. The sound of Jonas’s scream caused an upset roar to unleash from Gabe, making him let out suffocated tears that caused his skin to burn more in pain as they slid along his cheek. Jonas pulled Gabe back into his chest, looking to sprint his way back to the entrance of the forest, where his only mission now is bringing Gabe to the only place he knows. It’s been what felt like hours since the sun had set. Hours that Jonas has spent circling inside the lonely forest with no help. Jonas could still hear the muffled cries coming from Gabe. The more he cried, the more his face swelled up and ached in pain. Jonas felt desperate for any form of relief for Gabe, but his misery was constantly brought back to Jonas when he noticed he had been passing by the same plum tree over and over again. Everytime he passed by it, he would notice something different. This time he had noticed that they were not real plums. *** Night approaches, and so does early morning. It has now been one day since they had entered the forest. Jonas lays below the apple tree at the front of the forest woods. He and Gabe are no longer lost inside of the woodlands, but he lays numb in pain as Gabe sleeps quietly beside him. The morning rain pours heavier than Jonas has ever seen. It seems that even the sky is shedding its own tears for him. Gabe’s bumpy skin is still apparent throughout his entire body, as his motionless, unconscious body lay beside Jonas, he knew all too well that he had died. For the next two nights, Jonas could not bear to get up. Even while he lay below an apple tree by a still pond full of water. He couldn’t get up to eat, or drink, or move. A third night approached, and Jonas got up to go for a walk down the forest once again. He passed by all the wonderful things he had once seen along his first passage. After an hour of mindless walking, Jonas spots a familiar tree. The fruit tree that bore plums stood taller than all the others in Jonas’s eyes. He had no reason to think that, considering that all the fruit trees he had seen by then were significantly shorter than all the surrounding Oak trees that towered over them. Jonas persisted to walk over to the fruit tree, his bottom lip quivering as he approached nearer and nearer. Until he was right in front of the lush green tree. Jonas’s trembling hand grabbed a poison he once mistook for a plum. A delicate and earthy fruit that typified all the hardship he had preserved throughout. And as his hands drew closer the fruit towards him, he knew, too, that he would certainly die. |
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