The Book Thief and the Phantom

The Waking World

Max shook Liesel awake that morning.

At first she cursed at him.

Then Max explained the cause; she was crying in her sleep.

"Saukerl." she shoved him playfully, "I was fine."

Max simply shrugged and took her to the kitchen for breakfast. Alex Steiner wasn't the best of cooks, but when he put his mind to it, he wouldn't burn the waffles.

As they ate in silence, Liesel thought about the dream she had just had. It wasn't like a normal dream; it didn't fade from her mind upon awaking. It remained sharp and surprising in her memory.

"I had a strange dream last night." she whispered. The words hung in the air and clung to the other's faces.

"What was it about.?" asked Mr. Steiner.

"An opera house."

"An opera house?" Max repeated. "Why were you crying?"

"I met someone there. I was going to fall and he saved me."

"What was his name?" Max persisted.

"He called himself," Liesel took in a deep breath. "The Phantom of the Opera. He wore a strange mask that hid half of his face."

As she said this, Mr. Steiner looked at the clock. "Well, it's time for me to go to work. Max? Liesel?"

"I'll stay here." said Liesel.

"I'll stay with her." added Max.

Mr. Steiner nodded, grabbed his coat, and made his way to the front door. "I'll be back for lunch. Try not to ruin your appetite."

Both Max and Liesel nodded. When the door slammed behind Alex Steiner, Max stood and walked off.

"Where're you going?" asked Liesel.

"I'm getting your treasures."

Liesel smiled. Her 'treasures' were the books she had stolen over the course of her childhood at Himmel Street.

Max returned with The Whistler, The Shoulder Shrug, and The Word Shaker.

"Which one do you want to read?" he asked.

Liesel smiled. "The Word Shaker."

And so they spent the majority of the day reading and rereading Max's successful story of word shakers, seeds from tears, and the Führer.

When Mr. Steiner arrived for lunch, they read The Whistler until he had to return to work, then continued it in secret.

Finally, when it was time to go to bed, Liesel thought of the half-masked man. Before she slept, she found the other best-seller of Max's writing career; The Standover Man.

It made her wonder; did the Phantom have books? Or was he wordless? Or in between?

Liesel held the book to her chest, and prepared to dream.