The Book Thief(48)

Even with the heavy absorption of punches and punishment, he continued moving forward. Blood discolored his lips. It would soon be dried across his teeth.



There was a great roar when he was knocked down. Money was almost exchanged.



Max stood up.



He was beaten down one more time before he changed tactics, luring Walter Kugler a little closer than hed wanted to come. Once he was there, Max was able to apply a short, sharp jab to his face. It stuck. Exactly on the nose.



Kugler, suddenly blinded, shuffled back, and Max seized his chance. He followed him over to the right and jabbed him once more and opened him up with a punch that reached into his ribs. The right hand that ended him landed on his chin. Walter Kugler was on the ground, his blond hair peppered with dirt. His legs were parted in a V. Tears like crystal floated down his skin, despite the fact that he was not crying. The tears had been bashed out of him.



The circle counted.



They always counted, just in case. Voices and numbers.



The custom after a fight was that the loser would raise the hand of the victor. When Kugler finally stood up, he walked sullenly to Max Vandenburg and lifted his arm into the air.



Thanks, Max told him.



Kugler proffered a warning. Next time I kill you.



Altogether, over the next few years, Max Vandenburg and Walter Kugler fought thirteen times. Walter was always seeking revenge for that first victory Max took from him, and Max was looking to emulate his moment of glory. In the end, the record stood at 103 for Walter.



They fought each other until 1933, when they were seventeen. Grudging respect turned to genuine friendship, and the urge to fight left them. Both held jobs until Max was sacked with the rest of the Jews at the Jedermann Engineering Factory in 35. That wasnt long after the Nuremberg Laws came in, forbidding Jews to have German citizenship and for Germans and Jews to intermarry.



Jesus, Walter said one evening, when they met on the small corner where they used to fight. That was a time, wasnt it? There was none of this around. He gave the star on Maxs sleeve a backhanded slap. We could never fight like that now.



Max disagreed. Yes we could. You cant marry a Jew, but theres no law against fighting one.



Walter smiled. Theres probably a law rewarding itas long as you win.



For the next few years, they saw each other sporadically at best. Max, with the rest of the Jews, was steadily rejected and repeatedly trodden upon, while Walter disappeared inside his job. A printing firm.



If youre the type whos interested, yes, there were a few girls in those years. One named Tania, the other Hildi. Neither of them lasted. There was no time, most likely due to the uncertainty and mounting pressure. Max needed to scavenge for work. What could he offer those girls? By 1938, it was difficult to imagine that life could get any harder.



Then came November 9. Kristallnacht. The night of broken glass.



It was the very incident that destroyed so many of his fellow Jews, but it proved to be Max Vandenburgs moment of escape. He was twenty-two.



Many Jewish establishments were being surgically smashed and looted when there was a clatter of knuckles on the apartment door. With his aunt, his mother, his cousins, and their children, Max was crammed into the living room.



Aufmachen!



The family watched each other. There was a great temptation to scatter into the other rooms, but apprehension is the strangest thing. They couldnt move.



Again. Open up!



Isaac stood and walked to the door. The wood was alive, still humming from the beating it had just been given. He looked back at the faces naked with fear, turned the lock, and opened the door.



As expected, it was a Nazi. In uniform.



Never.



That was Maxs first response.



He clung to his mothers hand and that of Sarah, the nearest of his cousins. I wont leave. If we all cant go, I dont go, either.



He was lying.



When he was pushed out by the rest of his family, the relief struggled inside him like an obscenity. It was something he didnt want to feel, but nonetheless, he felt it with such gusto it made him want to throw up. How could he? How could he?



But he did.



Bring nothing, Walter told him. Just what youre wearing. Ill give you the rest.



Max. It was his mother.



From a drawer, she took an old piece of paper and stuffed it in his jacket pocket. If ever . . . She held him one last time, by the elbows. This could be your last hope.



He looked into her aging face and kissed her, very hard, on the lips.



Come on. Walter pulled at him as the rest of the family said their goodbyes and gave him money and a few valuables. Its chaos out there, and chaos is what we need.



They left, without looking back.



It tortured him.



If only hed turned for one last look at his family as he left the apartment. Perhaps then the guilt would not have been so heavy. No final goodbye.



No final grip of the eyes.



Nothing but goneness.