THE USUAL DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS OF MAX, LIESEL, HERR STEINER, ILSA HERMANN, ETC. I DO NOT OWN THE SETTINGS OF HERR STEINER'S SHOP, GRANDE STRASSE, ETC. I ONLY OWN THE EVENTS(EXCEPT FOR THE ONE AT THE END). THANKS GUYS!
Max Vandenburg stared at the sign for Molching. He had walked over three hundred miles, and he was lost. He had no idea how to get to Himmel Street from here. Look at that. Miles and miles of wandering the countryside-which all looked extremely similar to every other countryside Max had ever seen-and he was lost. So close, yet so far.
In one hand he carried Mein Kampf. In the other, a suitcase containing thirteen presents.
Max passed several dead streets, looking like a ghost town. It took another fifteen miles to reach the first, limited signs of life. Few people wandered the streets. Hardly any shops were open. The deeper into Molching he walked, the more signs of life there were.
Eventually, eventually, he found streets filled with people.
"Himmel Street?" Max asked the first passerby, who shrugged him off and walked away. "Himmel Street?" he asked again, but the next woman ignored him as well. He spent twenty minutes wandering around, asking for directions to Himmel Street, before a man, looking very hurried and carrying a briefcase, saw him and took pity on him.
"What do you want to go to Himmel Street for?" the man asked. "It was bombed months ago."
"Bombed?" Max gasped, not believing it, not wanting to believe it. Liesel. Hans. Rosa. Even Rudy, whom he had heard so much about…
"D'you want to meet the girl that survived? She's been getting a lot of popularity lately, having survived a bombing that big," the man continued, not listening.
"Yes," Max immediately said. Even though the chances were very slim that Liesel survived, there was a chance…
"She's living at 8 Grande Strasse, with the mayor," said the man, and then he stalked off.
Another twenty minutes to find out where Grande Strasse was, another five miles to get there. As he walked, he counted the thirteen gifts silently in his head, remembering the stories of each and why Liesel gave them to him. If Liesel really was dead, he had no friends left. He had lost touch with Walter, and his family as well. He sighed and continued walking.
Eventually, he reached 8 Grande Strasse, and he was almost regretting it. The chances were so bare that it could be Liesel, and yet the chance was immeasurable as well. He remembered how Liesel had told him about the mayor's wife, Ilsa Hermann...or was it the neighbor's wife Ilsa Hermann? Or even, the baker's wife Ilsa Hermann?
He knocked on the door. After a few moments, the door cautiously opened, a woman-whom he immediately knew to be Ilsa-standing there, her head barely poking out.
"Yes?" she asked.
"The girl that survived on Himmel Street," he started, then swallowed. "Is she here?"
"No…" Frau Hermann said, and his heart sunk. "She is currently at Herr Steiner's shop, down the road. I can give you directions there…"
"Thank you," said Max, and after a few minutes she came back with directions. "If she comes back, tell her Max Vandenburg is looking for her."
"May I ask why you are looking for her?" she asked, nodding.
Max shrugged, and repeated what he had heard earlier. "She's been getting a lot of popularity lately," he said. Frau Hermann nodded.
As Max walked away, he thought he heard her mutter, "hair like feathers…" No, she must have said something along the lines of "look at the weather." He shouldn't get his hopes up, it was most likely Liesel was dead. Still if she was at Herr Steiner's…but how could Herr Steiner have survived? He must have been sent off by the Nazi Party. Yes, that was it. But then how did Liesel survive?
Another few miles to reach the shop. He approached carefully, then turned back. No, it couldn't possibly be Liesel. But curiosity overwhelmed him and he entered. A bell jingled. He cautiously approached the counter.
"Is there someone here by the name of Liesel Meminger?" he asked.
"Yes, she's in the back," Herr Steiner replied, and Max nearly lept with joy. Liesel was alive! "May I ask who is calling on her?" He was already walking towards the back.
"Tell her-" Max said, choking on his words. "Tell her the Standover Man is here." After several agonizing moments of waiting for his best friend, Herr Steiner emerged again with a girl, and with a smile on his face.
"Max?" the Book Thief asked in disbelief, her eyes widening. She dropped the book she was holding.
"Yes, Liesel," the Standover Man replied. "It's me."
As they hugged, he whispered, "I don't suppose you still have the accordion?"