Page 321 - The Book Thief

denying it as the three of them sat at the kitchen table with their extra bread and

extra soup or potatoes. They all thought it, but no one spoke.

In the night, just a few hours later, Liesel awoke and wondered at the height of
her heart. (She had learned that expression from The Dream Carrier, which was
essentially the complete antithesis of The Whistler a book about an abandoned
child who wanted to be a priest.) She sat up and sucked deeply at the nighttime
air.

Liesel? Papa rolled over. What is it?

Nothing, Papa, everythings good. But the very moment shed finished the
sentence, she saw exactly what had happened in her dream.

ONE SMALL IMAGE
For the most part, all is identical.
The train moves at the same speed.
Copiously, her brother coughs. This
time, however, Liesel cannot see his
face watching the floor. Slowly,

she leans over. Her hand lifts him
gently, from his chin, and there
in front of her is the wide-eyed face
of Max Vandenburg. He stares at her.
A feather drops to the floor. The
body is bigger now, matching the
size of the face. The train screams.

Liesel?

I said everythings good.

Shivering, she climbed from the mattress. Stupid with fear, she walked through
the hallway to Max. After many minutes at his side, when everything slowed,

she attempted to interpret the dream. Was it a premonition of Maxs death? Or