Page 415 - The Book Thief

intruders and Max. There was the sound of opening and dragging, and then the

fuzzy silence who followed. The silence was always the greatest temptation.

Dont move.

She thought that thought many times, but she didnt think it enough.

Her feet scolded the floor.

Air breathed up her pajama sleeves.

She walked through the corridor darkness in the direction of silence that had
once been noisy, toward the thread of moonlight standing in the living room. She
stopped, feeling the bareness of her ankles and toes. She watched.

It took longer than she expected for her eyes to adjust, and when they did, there
was no denying the fact that Rosa Hubermann was sitting on the edge of the bed

with her husbands accordion tied to her chest. Her fingers hovered above the
keys. She did not move. She didnt even appear to be breathing.

The sight of it propelled itself to the girl in the hallway.

A PAINTED IMAGE
Rosa with Accordion.
Moonlight on Dark.
51 Instrument Silence.

Liesel stayed and watched.

Many minutes dripped past. The book thiefs desire to hear a note was
exhausting, and still, it would not come. The keys were not struck. The bellows
didnt breathe. There was only the moonlight, like a long strand of hair in the
curtain, and there was Rosa.

The accordion remained strapped to her chest. When she bowed her head, it sank