The Book Thief and the Phantom

It's All Real

"I'm sorry, Liesel, but I don't believe you."

"But it's true!"

"Honestly, how did you come up with this story?"

Liesel was at the Hermann's mansion, arguing with the mayor. She just wanted to see Ilsa, but it seemed impossible to get past her husband without telling him the reason.

"Just let me see her!"

"I can't do that, Liesel. You might be sick."

The Book Thief balled her hands into fists. Max had been teaching her how to defend herself. She was only supposed to attack someone if it was an emergency.

This was most definitely an emergency.

"It's alright." the quiet voice of Ilsa Hermann echoed behind her husband. "I'll talk to her."

*****

"That is interesting." the mayor's wife said, stirring her tea with a spoon. "The Phantom of the Opera. What a mysterious name."

"I don't understand." continued Liesel, "It doesn't go away, like the others. This kind of dream just stays like a normal memory, always fresh in my mind."

Ilsa stared at Liesel. "Maybe..." she whispered.

"What is it?"

Ilsa sighed. She looked back and forth. "My son had the same kind of dream. He always remembered the dreams in full detail. He thought that maybe he could stay in his dream world permanently."

Liesel was intrigued.

"One night, I heard him screaming. He was only a child at the time. I ran up the stairs and found him gasping for air. I woke him up. He was angry. He told me that he was going to stay in that world permanently. I told him he sounded as if he was dying. Maybe he was."

**A Minor Correction**
It wasn't a dream world; it was another time.

"But how is that even possible?" asked Liesel.

"I don't know." she took Liesel's hand. Hers was a frozen cold that kept Liesel's in a stone hard trap. "I don't know."