The Book Thief(93)

In the uneven circle, the minutes soaked by.



Liesel held Rudys hand, and her mamas.



Only one thought saddened her.



Max.



How would Max survive if the bombs arrived on Himmel Street?



Around her, she examined the Fiedlers basement. It was much sturdier and considerably deeper than the one at 33 Himmel Street.



Silently, she asked her papa.



Are you thinking about him, too?



Whether the silent question registered or not, he gave the girl a quick nod. It was followed a few minutes later by the three sirens of temporary peace.



The people at 45 Himmel Street sank with relief.



Some clenched their eyes and opened them again.



A cigarette was passed around.



Just as it made its way to Rudy Steiners lips, it was snatched away by his father. Not you, Jesse Owens.



The children hugged their parents, and it took many minutes for all of them to fully realize that they were alive, and that they were goingto be alive. Only then did their feet climb the stairs, to Herbert Fiedlers kitchen.



Outside, a procession of people made its way silently along the street. Many of them looked up and thanked God for their lives.



When the Hubermanns made it home, they headed directly to the basement, but it seemed that Max was not there. The lamp was small and orange and they could not see him or hear an answer.



Max?



Hes disappeared.



Max, are you there?



Im here.



They originally thought the words had come from behind the drop sheets and paint cans, but Liesel was first to see him, in front of them. His jaded face was camouflaged among the painting materials and fabric. He was sitting there with stunned eyes and lips.



When they walked across, he spoke again.



I couldnt help it, he said.



It was Rosa who replied. She crouched down to face him. What are you talking about, Max?



I . . . He struggled to answer. When everything was quiet, I went up to the corridor and the curtain in the living room was open just a crack. . . . I could see outside. I watched, only for a few seconds. He had not seen the outside world for twenty-two months.



There was no anger or reproach.



It was Papa who spoke.



How did it look?



Max lifted his head, with great sorrow and great astonishment. There were stars, he said. They burned my eyes.



Four of them.



Two people on their feet. The other two remained seated.



All had seen a thing or two that night.



This place was the real basement. This was the real fear. Max gathered himself and stood to move back behind the sheets. He wished them good night, but he didnt make it beneath the stairs. With Mamas permission, Liesel stayed with him till morning, reading A Song in the Dark as he sketched and wrote in his book.



From a Himmel Street window, he wrote, the stars set fire to my eyes.





THE SKY STEALER





The first raid, as it turned out, was not a raid at all. Had people waited to see the planes, they would have stood there all night. That accounted for the fact that no cuckoo had called from the radio. The Molching Express reported that a certain flak tower operator had become a little overexcited. Hed sworn that he could hear the rattle of planes and see them on the horizon. He sent the word.



He might have done it on purpose, Hans Hubermann pointed out. Would you want to sit in a flak tower, shooting up at planes carrying bombs?



Sure enough, as Max continued reading the article in the basement, it was reported that the man with the outlandish imagination had been stood down from his original duty. His fate was most likely some sort of service elsewhere.



Good luck to him, Max said. He seemed to understand as he moved on to the crossword.



The next raid was real.



On the night of September 19, the cuckoo called from the radio, and it was followed by a deep, informative voice. It listed Molching as a possible target.



Again, Himmel Street was a trail of people, and again, Papa left his accordion. Rosa reminded him to take it, but he refused. I didnt take it last time, he explained, and we lived. War clearly blurred the distinction between logic and superstition.



Eerie air followed them down to the Fiedlers basement. I think its real tonight, said Mr. Fiedler, and the children quickly realized that their parents were even more afraid this time around. Reacting the only way they knew, the youngest of them began to wail and cry as the room seemed to swing.



Even from the cellar, they could vaguely hear the tune of bombs. Air pressure shoved itself down like a ceiling, as if to mash the earth. A bite was taken of Molchings empty streets.



Rosa held furiously on to Liesels hand.



The sound of crying children kicked and punched.



Even Rudy stood completely erect, feigning nonchalance, tensing himself against the tension. Arms and elbows fought for room. Some of the adults tried to calm the infants. Others were unsuccessful in calming themselves.