Chapter 24

     Jonas looked at the waiting crowd of people, wondering. He looked down at Gabe, his face all dirty and tired. He could hear his own stomach growling in hunger. Are these people just like his old community, filled with sameness? If that is true, he probably will run away in search of a new community.

     "Hello" one man greeted.

     "h-h-hello" Jonas sputtered. His face was covered in beads of sweat from nervousness.

     "What's the little guy's name?" the same man asked.

     "Gabriel. I just call him Gabe though." Jonas answered. He felt a little more comfortable.

     "Where are you  coming from?" A woman asked. Jonas didn't know how to answer the question. He didn't just want to say that he came a community made up of cruel people.

     "I come from a community of sameness. I didn't like it there, so I ran away." Jonas answered. He knew this answer was the closest to the truth.

     "Oh. Well we would like to welcome you to into our community. You look like you are really tired and you must be starving. You can wash up and then we can have dinner. After that, you can rest." the man replied.

     Jonas was walking behind him, with Gabe in his arms. They were lead to a small lavender room, with a nice little sink in the corner, and towels lined up against the wall. Jonas walked over to the sink. he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He saw a new person in that mirror. Jonas saw a person that was now brave and courageous than the old guy. The old person was completely different, and this person in the mirror wasn't the same. He looked down at Gabe.

     "You and I have to be really brave to leave the community like this." Jonas whispered to Gabe. He washed his dirty face, carefully around the bruises and cuts. He washed up Gabe too. Jonas found some bandages and wrapped them carefully around his cuts. He got changed into some new clothes, and fixed Gabe up too. He wiped his face with a soft towel. He fixed his hair, and then left the room.

     When he arrived at the table of food, his stomach just ached for the food. He couldn't wait to eat all of that food. When he sat down, a nicely dressed man brought him food. Course after course. Jonas ate until he couldn't take another bite. Gabe had been fed nicely too. Jonas had expected a time to tell feelings, but that didn't happen. Jonas decided to let that go.

     After dinner, the kind man that they met before, had led them to their rooms. Their room had been painted a nice pale green, just like their eyes. There was a small crib on the side of the bed. On the other side, there was a huge bed, with a grassy green bed cover. The floors were as soft as a feather and Jonas instantly wanted to just doze off into the night.

     "Thank you." Jonas said to the man, and then he left. Jonas placed Gabe into the nice soft crib, and tucked him in. He went over to his own bed and lied down. He turned the lamp off, and then stared at the ceiling. Not all of the communities have sameness. But this community is far better than the one he lived in. Jonas thought to himself about the memories he had in the other community, but he knew he needed a change. He needed new memories. Those memories are memories, but these memories won't be about sameness. These memories will be about this new life he is going to live in, in this new community. Jonas slowly started to close his eyes, as if the old community was a dream. but it wasn't, and Jonas knew it. He dozed off, in hope that this community will bring a better life.