On the step, he perused the mud that had dried as a crusty sheet on his uniform, then looked Liesel hopelessly in the face.

'What about it, Saumensch?'

'What about what?'

'You know. . .'

Liesel responded in the usual fashion.

'Saukerl,' she laughed, and she walked the short distance home.

A disconcerting mixture of mud and pity was one thing, but kissing Rudy Steiner was something entirely different.

Smiling sadly on the step, he called out, rummaging a hand through his hair.

'One day,' he warned her.

'One day, Liesel!'


The times Rudy Steiner called himself an idiot was countless. The two monsters in the kitchen were determined to have him. A father Alex Steiner was, offered himself to war, but it was fruitless. They wanted Rudy Steiner and him only. Rudy moved back from the kitchen door when the two monsters came out. They looked at him and gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement. Inside the kitchen, Alex comforted his heartbroken wife, Barbra Steiner.

'Please,' Barbra begged them to reconsider.

Their sharp eyes kept Rudy in place and their final answer: Pack your clothes, son. Rudy never knew how heavy words can be until now. The only person he knew who loved words more than anything was the book thief, Liesel Meminger. Oh how he wanted to run out and steal books with her, ignoring that the fact that he was being taken away to a school. A school that will change him forever. A school that will tear his golden childhood apart.

Liesel Meminger stood by the window, clearly hearing Mama complain in the kitchen. It was unusually quiet outside and a strange feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as she thought of the boy with hair the color of a lemon. She tried shrugging it off, but it sat so deep inside that she could no longer ignore it. She abruptly turned to her Mama and said, 'May I go outside?'

Rosa Hubermann turned around ready to give her foster daughter a piece of her mind, but when she saw that grim look on her face, she decided otherwise. 'Go, Saumensch! All day with your silly books and that Saukerl!'

The book thief wasted no time in walking to the Steiner residence and knocking on the door. The door was opened by the Steiners' eldest son, Kurt. Before he could tell her to come back other time, she had already seen what was happening inside. There were two Nazi men she had seen earlier, her childhood best friend with bags at his feet. His eyes immediately lit up at the sight of the book thief. Then, the truth struck him hard in the chest: Will he ever see her again? Liesel stood numbly by the door looking in. She couldn't find words now and they seemed so foreign to her.

'Say your goodbyes, son,' one of the monsters said, stepping out of the house. The book thief looked questioningly at the boy with the color of a lemon. Silent words were exchanged through looks and promises were made. But only one will keep Rudy Steiner alive.


'How about a kiss, Saumensch?'

He stood waist-deep in the water for a few moments longer before climbing out and handing her the book.His trousers clung to him, and he did not stop walking. In truth, I think he was afraid. Rudy Steiner was afraid of the book thief's kiss. He must have longed for it so much. He must have loved her so incredibly hard. So hard that he will never ask for her lips again, and would go to his grave without them.


It was a tearful goodbye, indeed, for Barbra Steiner. Rudy Steiner had much pride that he did not cry in front of his family and the book thief. But one look in the eye was more than enough. Liesel stood by the door and the boy had the nerve to ask one last question with a smile.

'How about a kiss, Saumensch?' He expected the same answer from the book thief. He expected her to laugh and call him Saukerl. But it never came to his surprise.

The book thief smiled and said, 'Come back and get it, Saukerl.' There was truth in her eyes and it was worth everything to her Jesse Owens. Her answer was enough to make the boy grin ear-to-ear. He definitely will.