Sorry for the long wait. Work was pretty hectic.
. . . .
Before Liesel could ask the man if he needed help, he quickly walked to another bookshelf and started perusing those books. Liesel shrugged to herself and placed the last book on the shelf. She then began walking to the empty front desk. Liesel stood there only a few seconds before a man clearing his throat alerted her. It was the same man from the book shelf earlier. The man's eyes were pleading, but his face was determined. Liesel began to make a connection in her brain when suddenly the man spoke. "I'm looking for a word shaker."
***A SMALL FACT***
Liesel hadn't been called a word shaker in years.
Liesel's eyes bugged out of her head, her mouth agape. She looked like a fish blubbing in the ocean the way she opened and closed her mouth. It was like she was seeing a ghost. "Excuse me?" Liesel was surprised by the scared tone in her voice. She quickly cleared her throat and said, "What did you say?"
Max attempted a smile.He was afraid he had the wrong woman. Surely Liesel would have understood what a word shaker was. "Are you Liesel Meminger?"Liesel nodded. His smile widened. "I'm Max Vandenberg."
"I know," Liesel whispered. "I thought you were dead."
Max's smile dropped from his face. "I thought you were dead too. They told me there were no survivors at Himmel."
Liesel's eyes started to water. Liesel hasn't cried in public in years. She learned to harden herself so as not to appear weak; a trait she learned from Rosa. In time of trouble, Liesel was the one you counted on to lead you out of the storm. "How did you find me?"
Max sighed. "I feel guilty. I didn't try looking for you for a year after I was liberated from Dachau. I came back to 33 Himmel, and no one was there. I was told you were dead. So I stopped looking. I didn't even consider you being alive until I saw Steiner's Tailors across the street. Mr. Steiner told me where you were."
Suddenly Liesel felt scared and trapped. Visions of her past started to weigh heavily on her. An accordionist. Hair like lemons. A Jewish fist fighter. A boy with a chronic ear infection. Saumensch. A library. A woman whose two sons died. The Grave Digger's Handbook. Some words. A siren. And finally colors. Red. White. Black. It was too much. "If you're here to repay me for keeping you in my basement, you're debt is no more. My family saved your life, and you have saved mine. You inspired me to write my own stories, and so I did. I was writing in the basement when the bombs dropped."
Max's face twisted in confusion. "I'm not here to repay any debt. I wanted to find you. You're the only family I have left."
"I'm sorry," Liesel said. She pushed past Max and started fast walking to the back room. "It's too much," she said over her shoulder. "It hurts too much to remember. I'd appreciate it if you left and never came back. Have a nice day, sir."
Max followed close behind Liesel. "I know it's a lot to take in. It hurts me too. But you don't need to run from the past."
"I'm not running," Liesel said as she closed the door behind her.
Max lightly knocked on the door. "Liesel." Liesel pressed her back against the door and sunk to the floor, her head between her knees. "Just answer me one thing. Are you still a word shaker?"
"Yes," Liesel said softly. She didn't move until she heard Max's footsteps walk away. She lifted her head and said to herself "I need to visit Alex Steiner after work. He'll know exactly what to do." Liesel didn't see the piece of paper with Max's address that was slipped underneath the door.
In this chapter Liesel seems kind of out of character. At the end of the book, Liesel was happy to see Max again. This however, is a new Liesel. This Liesel is a grown woman who has faced some hard times after losing everything. She went through a lot of pain and has tried to "harden" herself like Rosa. Liesel is still a sweet girl, and isn't nearly as mean as Rosa. After experiencing everything she went through, Liesel is a little more cautious. In the next chapter Alex Steiner is going to help her decide if she wants to go down that road again and relive all of that pain.