Prologue:

Lily couldn't sleep. She couldn't settle herself down. Tomorrow she would be Assigned. She had always been anxious for the December Ceremonies, but now she felt as if she would burst. Lily absently wondered about how Jonas must have felt before he had been Assigned to be Receiver.

Lily mentally rebuked herself. She wasn't supposed to think about Jonas. He had been Lost. She had a new brother, Baby Jonas, to take his place. Still, it wasn't the same. She missed Jonas. She knew she wasn't supposed to, but she did. Especially when she still held some of the Memories she had received.

Everyone knew Jonas was unable to come back. He had been Lost, and his memories had found ways into people. Lily had received three herself, but she had only told her family, and the Old Receiver, about two. She had felt rotten for lying, but she did not want to give up her memory of the elephants. Jonas had been right. There had been elephants at one time.

The other two memories that Lily had received were very basic according the Old Receiver. She had one of an apple. The apple had changed, to what the Receiver called "the colour red". Lily had been fascinated by it. She had occasionally seen this "colour red" in the apples in real life too. Her other memory was that of a "sunburn". Lily had begun to understand why her brother ran away. The sunburn was painful. Lily had hurt for several days after.

Lily was almost sleeping when she felt a hand on her back. It was a warm hand. Lily let the hand touch her, even though she knew it wasn't right.

"Forgive me for what I may turn you into," whispered a voice. It was Jonas. Lily was lulled to sleep by a colourful memory of a bright sunset.