"The Giver Quartet" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lowry, Lois)

The Ceremony for the Ones was always noisy and fun. Each December, all the newchildren born in the previous year turned One. One at a time тАФ there were always fifty in each yearтАЩs group, if none had been released тАФ they had been brought to the stage by the Nurturers who had cared for them since birth. Some were already walking, wobbly on their unsteady legs; others were no more than a few days old, wrapped in blankets, held by their Nurturers.



тАЬI enjoy the Naming,тАЭ Jonas said.



His mother agreed, smiling. тАЬThe year we got Lily, we knew, of course, that weтАЩd receive our female, because weтАЩd made our application and been approved. But IтАЩd been wondering and wondering what her name would be.



тАЬI could have sneaked a look at the list prior to the ceremony,тАЭ Father confided. тАЬThe committee always makes the list in advance, and itтАЩs right there in the office at the Nurturing Center.



тАЬAs a matter of fact,тАЭ he went on, тАЬI feel a little guilty about this. But I did go in this afternoon and looked to see if this yearтАЩs Naming list had been made yet. It was right there in the office, and I looked up number Thirty-six тАФ thatтАЩs the little guy IтАЩve been concerned about тАФ because it occurred to me that it might enhance his nurturing if I could call him by a name. Just privately, of course, when no one else is around.тАЭ



тАЬDid you find it?тАЭ Jonas asked. He was fascinated. It didnтАЩt seem a terribly important rule, but the fact that his father had broken a rule at all awed him. He glanced at his mother, the one responsible for adherence to the rules, and was relieved that she was smiling.



His father nodded. тАЬHis name тАФ if he makes it to the Naming without being released, of course тАФ is to be Gabriel. So I whisper that to him when I feed him every four hours, and during exercise and playtime. If no one can hear me.



тАЬI call him Gabe, actually,тАЭ he said, and grinned.



тАЬGabe.тАЭ Jonas tried it out. A good name, he decided.



Though Jonas had only become a Five the year that they acquired Lily and learned her name, he remembered the excitement, the conversations at home, wondering about her: how she would look, who she would be, how she would fit into their established family unit. He re-membered climbing the steps to the stage with his parents, his father by his side that year instead of with the Nurturers, since it was the year that he would be given a new-child of his own.



He remembered his mother taking the newchild, his sister, into her arms, while the document was read to the assembled family units. тАЬNewchild Twenty-three,тАЭ the Namer had read. тАЬLily.тАЭ



He remembered his fatherтАЩs look of delight, and that his father had whispered, тАЬSheтАЩs one of my favorites. I was hoping for her to be the one.тАЭ The crowd had clapped, and Jonas had grinned. He liked his sisterтАЩs name. Lily, barely awake, had waved her small fist. Then they had stepped down to make room for the next family unit.



тАЬWhen I was an Eleven,тАЭ his father said now, тАЬas you are, Jonas, I was very impatient, waiting for the Ceremony of Twelve. ItтАЩs a long two days. I remember that I enjoyed the Ones, as I always do, but that I didnтАЩt pay much attention to the other ceremonies, except for my sisterтАЩs. She became a Nine that year, and got her bicycle. IтАЩd been teaching her to ride mine, even though technically I wasnтАЩt supposed to.тАЭ