I watch silently as Rudy hugs his mother tightly, not seeming to want to let go. Who would? I would much rather cuddle my mother than get into a car full of Nazi’s and drive away to certain death. My breathing hitches and I have to force myself to hold back tears. He would come back though, I was sure he would, he couldn’t leave forever. He finally pulls away from his mother, tears are swimming in her eyes yet his face look solemn, he couldn’t look weak in front of the Nazi’s. Kurt tugs at his hand pulling him down and whispering something in his ear. Rudy looks at him and shakes his head, ruffling Kurt’s white-blonde hair, and trying his best to smile. This is all his own fault, I think; if he had just lost that day at Hitler Youth Athletics he wouldn’t be going anywhere. Stop that Liesel! I shake slightly in disgust at my own thoughts, it wasn’t his fault he was leaving it was Hitler’s. I Hated Hitler. I hated him so badly, I wish he would just die so the war could be over and Rudy wouldn’t have to go to Nazi school.
“Liesel…” A soft voice calls, disrupting my train of thought, I blink and realise Rudy is standing directly in front of me. “Liesel?”
“Goodbye…” I stutter. Rudy nods, looking at me as if he is expecting something else; I stare back at him, my eyes as dead as ice. I was losing my best friend, I couldn’t think straight. I feel something nudge me in the back but I think nothing of it.
Rudy sighs softly, “Goodbye Liesel…” Then he turns and begins walking back towards the car. Suddenly I feel a hand grab the back of my collar and pull me back. Mama’s breath warms the back of my neck
“Is that it, he’s your best friend!” Her voice hisses in my ear before pushing me forward roughly. She’s right. I run after him
“Rudy wait!” I call. He spins around a look of relief written all over his face. I don’t stop until I am right in front of him, I open my mouth, still unsure of what to say but I am cut short by a mouthful of blonde hair and two arms wrapping around my middle. I instantly wrap my arms around his shoulders. We remain like this for a while until he finally whispers into my hair
“I’m going to miss you…Book Thief.”
“I’ll miss you more…” I murmur.
“So…how about a kiss saumensch?” Rudy questions even more quietly, almost inaudible to me, I pull away from his hug. He looks at me with a curious and sad look on his face. I gently put my hands on his shoulders and his eyes widen. I pull him towards me; his eyebrows shoot up into his hairline. Then just before our noses are touching I pull my head up and tiptoeing plant a feathery kiss on his forehead. I lower my feet and look at his eyes. He just smiles and shakes his head before reaching out and pulling my pigtail over my shoulder.
“Goodbye Liesel.”
“Promise you’ll come back?” I blurt out, I can almost hear mama yelling at me ‘you never ask someone to make a promise they can’t keep dumpkof!’ I see Rudy’s eyes sadden but he nods
“I promise saumensch.”
“Goodbye Rudy.”
“Goodbye Liesel.” And with that Rudy turns and walks to the car. I watch as his mother begins to cry horribly into Emma’s shoulder, as the Nazi officer pushes my best friend into a car and as that very car carries him away from me.
The minute the car rounds the corner I turn on my heel and take off in the opposite direction, ignoring the calls from papa. I run, as fast as my feet will take me. I almost slip on some wet gravel as I speed around the corner, picking up speed. I’m on one of the busier roads now, the one me a Rudy took to school, the one we first raced on two years ago. My feet thump on the concrete, pounding loudly in my ears. I run and run and run until I reach the wall signaling the end of the street, and the joining to the main road. I extend my hands and keep running, straight into the wall. My hands cushion the blow somewhat, but the numb sensation of cutting flesh burns through my arms. I slide down the wall until I am sitting on the ground with my side up against the wall. I sit there for about an hour, no one comes to look for me, and hardly a person comes down the street. I begin to try and recall Rudy’s face, suddenly afraid I might forget it if I don’t memorize every single detail, like the way his dimple deepens in his left cheek when he frowns, how the corners of his eyes crinkle when he laughs, how he breathed so softly when he fell asleep on me. I finally convince myself I have every detail ingrained in my mind so I slowly stand up and drag my feet home. My eyes feel tired and I am about to fall asleep standing up when I get to the door. I push it open and try to ignore the looks mama and papa share as I sit down at the table and start eating the cold soup set at my place.
“Liesel what happened to your hands?” Papa asks quietly, as he stares at my bloody and cut hands
I shrug, “I decided to run into a wall.” I murmur as if there’s nothing else to it. I catch mama glance worriedly at me through the corner of my eye but they decide not to push any more for the rest of the night.
