Author's Note: Hello, fellow Book Thief fans! I'm back! I want to start out by saying a HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed Bomb Bruised Lips. Your wonderful comments brightened my day and I'm very pleased that you enjoyed the story even though it ended in such a bittersweet. You all made Bomb Bruised Lips my most popular and most reviewed oneshot and I thank you all very much!
And so I present my next Book Thief oneshot. I don't think it can top Bomb Bruised Lips but I hope you enjoy it!
If Only
It was only three days after the bombing of Himmel Street that I found Liesel Meminger and Alex Steiner in the early hours of twilight. They were sitting outside of Herr Steiner's tailor shop which was only partially damaged and would need minimal repairs.
Neither the man or the girl spoke for neither had simply nothing to say. Both sat unmoving, the man of wood and the girl of words.
A FEW FACTS ABOUT ALEX STEINER
He was being slowly whittled away each day
He felt guilty for being alive and wished to die at that instant
(as many of them did during that time)
But somehow, he felt that he was not the only one.
(He was thinking about Liesel, of course)
But here's an interesting fact: Liesel Meminger was already thinking about the future, even if she did not know that she wanted to think about it.
"Are you going to rebuild your shop, Herr Steiner?" the book thief asked. Her voice cracked a little, so surprised by being put to use again. It had seemed as if she would never speak again.
"Yes," replied Alex, "sometime in the future." He paused and then lowered his head. "Crucified Christ," he swore, "if only I had let Rudy go to that school."
Yes, Herr Steiner, if only.
Liesel said nothing. Instead, she sat thinking about those two words.
If only her father had been taken away for being a—what was it?---a Kommunist, then she and her real parents and her brother would all be together, maybe somewhere safe. In America perhaps, away from all of the bombing.
But then other thoughts came to her mind.
WHAT LIESEL REALIZED
She did not really know her parents anymore
Her real parents, the Hubermanns, were buried somewhere in a ditch
And that Himmel Street had always been her home
Such a simple word, if and how utterly coincidental that appears in the middle of the word life. Throughout my career, I have found that humans like to couple this word if with the word only, especially when I come to collect their souls. If only I had done this. If only I had done that and so on. Believe me, it becomes agonizingly repetitive after awhile.
But what does one do if one is still alive and only wishes they were dead?
A very interesting question. One that, I being who I am, cannot answer.
Liesel stood up and said. "I should get back to the mayor's house now. They will be wondering where I am. Keine Angst, Herr Steiner, die Sonne scheint wieder." Don't worry, Mr. Steiner, the sun will shine again.
Then, as the book thief jogged down the rubble littered street, Alex Steiner began to think that although his family was dead, his life would be so very much harder if Liesel Meminger had been taken as well.
Author's Note: Well? What do you think? I know that was really short but send me your good and bad comments in your reviews! Danke schon! (Thank you very much!)
