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Then it ended He opened his eyes, wincing with discoet the word for it"

"It was sunburn," the old man told hilad you gave it toAnd now I understand better, what it meant, that there would be pain"

The man didn't respond He sat silently for a second Finally he said, "Get up, now It's tio home"

They both walked to the center of the room Jonas put his tunic back on "Goodbye, sir," he said "Thank you for my first day"

The old man nodded to him He looked drained, and a little sad

"Sir?" Jonas said shyly

"Yes? Do you have a question?"

"It's just that I don't know your naht you were The Receiver, but you say that now I'm The Receiver So I don't knohat to call you"

The man had sat back down in the comfortable upholstered chair Hesensation He seemed terribly weary

"Call me The Giver," he told Jonas

12

"You slept soundly, Jonas?" hismeal "No dreams?"

Jonas si to tell the truth "I slept very soundly," he said

"I wish this one would," his father said, leaning down fro fist The basket was on the floor beside him; in its corner, beside Gabriel's head, the stuffed hippo sat staring with its blank eyes

"So do I," Mother said, rolling her eyes "He's so fretful at night"

Jonas had not heard the newchild during the night because as always, he had slept soundly But it was not true that he had no dreaain, as he slept, he had slid down that snow-covered hill Always, in the drea--he could not grasp what--that lay beyond the place where the thickness of snow brought the sled to a stop

He was left, upon awakening, with the feeling that he wanted, even so that waited in the distance The feeling that it was good That it elconificant

But he did not kno to get there

He tried to shed the leftover drea for the day

School seeuage and coy; civil procedures and govern the breaks for recreation periods and the midday meal, the other neelves were abuzz with descriptions of their first day of training All of the the required apology for interrupting, then forgetting again in the excite the new experiences

Jonas listened He was very aware of his own ad But it would have been impossible, anyway There was no way to describe to his friends what he had experienced there in the Annex roo a hill and snow; and how could you describe a hill and snow to soical cold?

Even trained for years as they all had been in precision of language, ords could you use which would give another the experience of sunshine?

So it was easy for Jonas to be still and to listen

After school hours he rode again beside Fiona to the House of the Old

"I looked for you yesterday," she told hiether Your bike was still there, and I waited for a little while But it was getting late, so I went on ho you wait," Jonas said

"I accept your apology," she replied autoer than I expected," Jonas explained

She pedaled forward silently, and he knew that she expected him to tell her why She expected hi But to ask would have fallen into the category of rudeness

"You've been doing sothe subject "There won't be much that you don't already know"

"Oh, there's lots to learn," Fiona replied "There's administrative work, and the dietary rules, and punishment for disobedience--did you know that they use a discipline wand on the Old, the same as for small children? And there's occupational therapy, and recreational activities, andand braked their bikes

"I really think I'll like it better than school," Fiona confessed

"Me too," Jonas agreed, wheeling his bike into its place

She waited for a second, as if, again, she expected hio on Then she looked at her watch, waved, and hurried toward the entrance

Jonas stood for a ain: the thing that he thought of now as "seeing beyond" This ti indescribable change As he looked up and toward her going through the door, it happened; she changed Actually, Jonas thought, trying to recreate it in his mind, it wasn't Fiona in her entirety It see instant