The giver

Numbers (21)

Now my group had taken a new place in the Auditorium, trading with the New Elevens, so they sat in the very front, immediately before the stage.

They were arranged by their original numbers, the numbers they had been given at birth

The numbers were rarely used after the naming, but each child his or her number of course

Sometimes parents used them in irritation at a child's misbehavior, indicating that mischief made one unworthy of a name

I always chuckled when I heard a parent exasperated call sharply to a winning toddler

I was the twenty third, I had been the twenty third child born my year

Mason was the eleventh child born, it has meant that at his naming he had already been standing, soon to talk and walk. It had given him a slight advantage the first or two, a little maturity than many of his group mates who had been born in the later months of that year.

But it turned out as it always did by three, the children progressed at much the same level, though by their first number one could always tell who was a few months older than others in my group

Today the new Elevens had been advanced this morning, there was two elevens

At midday break I had exchanged smiles with a shy female named Harrier and a guy name Gill

Very soon I would not be an Eleven but a Twelve and age would no longer matter. I would be an adult, like my parents. Though a new one and untrained still.

I was also hoping to understand Noah and figure out why he went bicycle riding in the morning when everyone was asleep or how they never found his body, even the Giver himself knowing before everyone else seemed strange. He was definitely part of it but before I could ask, he was released.

There was so many unknown answers that kept me awake at night

Mary was a four and sat now in the row ahead, Ethan was Eighteen, luckily they weren't close to each other so it was rather peaceful

The initial speech at the Ceremony of Twelve was made by the Chief Elder, the leader of the community m who was elected every ten years

The speech was much the same each year: recollection of the time of childhood and the period of preparation, the coming responsibilities of adult life, the profound importance of assignment, the seriousness of training to come.

Then the Chief Elder moved ahead in her speech "This is the time" she began looking directly at us "When we acknowledge differences, you Elevens have spent all your years till now learning to fit in, to standardize your behavior, to curb any impulse that might set you apart from the group, but today we honor your differences. They have determined your futures"