Not Leaving {The Book Thief}

1

  The moment our lips met his mouth opened in a gasp, blowing dust into my face. I jumped back more tears streaming down my face, was that his last breath, an afterscock? He didn't move again. After a few seconds he grunted with pain wincing as he rolled over to face me. His mask of dust opened revealing two bright blue eyes, his last feature not coated in dust. "Saukerl, where did everything go?" His face wasn't lit up in his usual way, he wasn't the 14 year old in this moment. He was once again the 10 year old he was when we first met. "We have been bombed you idiot, everything is gone." He pushed himself into an upright possision, radiating pain. "By everything... do you mean everyone? Is my mama..." he fell back down and curled up, shaking with sobs. I slid my hand under his head pulling him into my lap, when I brought my hand back up it had streaks of blood. "Rudy! Your bleeding! I will be right back don't move, please!" I jumped up to find papa, he would know how to help. As I walked toward what remained of our house I noticed a doctor crouched beside two lumps in the ruble. I sprinted toward him, "A doctor! Exactly who I needed!" I thought. When I was only a few feet away from him, the lumps started to take on the forms of humans. It was Mama and Papa... I sprinted towards them, tears dripping from my eyes.

   "Papa" my hoarse voice called. I took his and mama's hands and heald them to my cheeks, they had barely a small hint of their scent. Tobacco lingered with Pea Soup, but they were ultimately taken over by the scent of ash and smoke. I laid there hands down, and rested their fingers by eachothers. The doctor looked at me with tears in his eyes. "Their... their is a boy... he is bleeding ... he needs help..." He stood up and waved some men over to take care of Mama and Papa. I kissed them goodbye and lead the doctor to Rudy who sat their, rolled over on his side facing his family. The doctor gasped when he saw the back of his lemon coloured head. His hair was in
clumps, soaked in blood and dust. The doctor picked Rudy up as if he was holding a baby. I followed him as he carried Rudy to a tent that was full of others from Himmel street. When Rudy was sat down on a stretcher a group of nurses ran over and immediately started cutting off his lemon coloured hair. When his beautiful hair was in a buzzed cut, it was plain to see that his head had been gashed open. The nurses grabbed a bottle of beer and poured it down his throat, to numb the pain. They grabbed rags and started to clean him up. I closed my eyes and laced my fingers with his "your going to be okay, your going to live." I murmured to him. I could hear the nurses saying something about "stitches" and "too young". I wanted to scream, I can't lose Rudy too.

   I woke up with a hand stroking my hair out of my face. I looked up to see Rudy looking at me, his eyes blood shot. "I think I'm drunk." He grinned at me. I wiped my nose and grinned up at him "They gave you some beer, so your stiches wouldn't hurt." He winced as he tried to sit up, but ended up laying back down. "Well it worked lieshel." He slurred my name, he was definitely drunk. "Rudy, mama and Papa are dead." He leaned over and pulled me into his arms. I sobbed into his shoulder as he rested his chin on my head. "Liesel, when I woke up you were... erm... very close to me." I blushed and met his eyes "I thought you might want a... um... kiss... in your last moments." I wished I hadn't, I broke my vow not to kiss him until I died. But I wanted to kiss him again. "But, you weren't really 'alive' I guess. We're you faking it?" He smiled from ear to ear. "Sadly I was unconscious then, maybe one more kiss, saumensch?" He smiled at me with his boyish smile. I laughed and walked out of the curtained off room. "Liesel come back! Please!" He cried after me. "I won't kiss you while you are drunk, you won't remember. And you need your rest."

   I had wondered around the hospital for a few moments, trying not to look at anyone, lest I see a friend from school. As I walked down the aisle I saw a twitching hand reach for me. "Tommy!" The nurse pushing him turned to me, and smiled sadly. "You are a friend of his, yes? I'm extremely sorry to inform you that he will die with in a few hours. Would you like to make his last hours a little more cheerful, his family is gone." I took his twitching hand and squat down to eye level with him. "Tommy, Rudy is here. We could all talk like old times." He mumbled a mangled yes. I guided the nurse to Rudy's room. "Rudy, Tommy is here to... um... 'talk'" (I doubt he would actually be able to talk) Rudy sat upright, a little more sober it seemed. "Hey Tommy, it's been a while." Tommy grinned a toothy smile. "Eh has been a ile" he managed to say. I walked over to Rudy "He will die in a few hours." Rudy looked at me, his happiness at seeing a friend diminished. "Tommy, how about we play ball when ever we are both healed?" A lie, Tommy wouldn't heal, Rudy had a 70% chance of healing. But Tommy didn't know that "Oh yes!" Me and Rudy sat there talking to Tommy as he slowly turned more and more pale. About two hours later Tommy slipped away, into an eternal sleep. I curled up next to Rudy hugging my knees with tears trickling down my face. Rudy kissed my finger tips and heald my head next to his chest. I fell asleep right there, listen to his heart.