The Beauty of Heaven

White. That's the color that she sees first. She doesn't his face anymore. The face that has been watching over her since she was a young girl. The face of Death. She was previously sitting on the curb of a street where a soccer field sits similar to the one she and the lemon haired boy used to play soccer in.

Finally, more colors come to her. That's when she notices she's at home. Home: the place that was blown away by the bombs. The place that saved her life. But now she sits on her bed as if the bombs never came. As if she was still the book-stealing girl that used to live here.

She hears voices carry up from the downstairs. It takes her awhile to recognize them. But when she does it brings a lump to her throat. Rosa and Hans Huberman. Mama and Papa. She doesn't believe it. They couldn't be here. Not now. They have been dead for many years now, but she still hears their voices getting louder and louder. Mama yelling at Papa for God knows what, and it makes home feel more comforting when she hears the shouting voices.

She stands up from the bed and that's when she sees the mirror. The mirror doesn't show the old woman who lived to tell the tale of the book thief. It shows the young book thief. The girl that sought for knowledge in the forbidden books, the books that got her through.

Before she knows what she's doing, she finds herself racing to see her Mama and Papa. She runs into the kitchen where the little woman stands yelling at the old man with the accordion in his hand. Sometimes, in between sentences, the old man would interrupt her by playing a few notes. This is truly home.

"Mama? Papa?" the book thief asks, startling the old couple. They turn their heads surprised to see their foster daughter standing in the doorway. They hesitate in disbelief before running about and hugging her. They smile in their tears. She embraces them, happy to be with her family again.

"Oh, Liesel!" Mama cries with a smile on her face. "We have missed you so much. Max has told us all about what has happened and how you were doing in the real world."

"Max? He's here!" She asks getting excited. Her excitement dies down when she sees the shake of Papa's head.

"No, he lives with his mother far away from here. But occasionally he comes around to see us."

"Where are we?" She asks, the question now popping in her mind.

` "Heaven," Papa asks. The book thief looks around and outside. She never expected heaven being something like this. She expected angels with halos flying around while playing a harp. But this seems so much better. To be with her family again now that is truly heaven.

They sit down and she tells them all about her life. About her husband that was very kind even though he didn't quite grasp the feelings she had when she sees something that reminded her of home. She tells them about her children that never had a book out of their hands. She even tells them about her grandchildren that she spoiled with anything she got.

But once she hears the shouting outside, she stops. She listens very carefully to the sound of what sounds like a soccer game being held. A soccer game that will include the lemon haired boy and the boy with the twitching ear. The soccer game that has not been the same since the absence of the book thief.

Mama and Papa take notice of this hesitation and Papa smiles. He watches as she looks out the window trying to see if she can get their attention. Papa gives Mama a look and she glares at him. Then Mama reluctantly sighs and she lets the book thief go out to the game.

She runs outside with the sun beating on her skin. It feels so real. As if she's actually reliving her past. As if she's still the young girl that used to roam the streets looking for anything to steal with her best friend always by her side.

"Saukrel!" the book thief calls out with a grin on her face. "Did you already forget about me?"

The lemon haired boy freezes, almost mirroring Mama's and Papa's reaction when they figured out the book thief has finally rejoined them. Then, he smiles and casually walks over to her. The book thief can tell that he wants to run over, but for the sake of the other boys, he tries to be as casual as possible.

Before he can open his mouth to say something, she pulls him over and kisses him. This time, she's not going to make the mistake of waiting until he was dead to finally kiss him. The book thief doesn't mind that the other boys are snickering. When she lets him go, he can't hide the massive grin that spreads across his face.

"Liesel . . . there was so much . . . . but then." For the first time it seems as if Rudy is speechless. After all this time she has never seen her best friend not being able to say anything.

"Liesel!" A voice calls out. She turns around to see Alex Steiner walking over to her. She hasn't seen him since she was in the hospital room with the rushing nurses and doctors. The night they gave her the fatal news of her best friend's father.

"I never would have guessed," he chuckles. The book thief smiles, finally seeing the happy and peaceful look on his face. Back when they were in the real world, the book thief never saw him smile or laugh after what he heard about his family. And who could blame him?

"I see you already met with Rudy again. Good to see you kids back together again." He then leans over to the book thief. "Make sure he stays in line. Believe or not, the boy still hasn't changed," he whispers. The book thief smiles and nods.

"Isn't heaven the greatest thing?" Rudy asks.

"It's beautiful," she replies and she can't remember ever seeing anything such as beautiful as heaven. No matter how happy the memory she has back in the real world, it can't compare to the happiness she has in heaven. No bombs can take this away from her.