Page 494 - The Book Thief

Liesel returned to the library and opened one of the desk drawers. She sat down.

THE LAST LETTER

Dear Mrs. Hermann,

As you can see, I have been in your library again and I have ruined one of
your books. I was just so angry and afraid and I wanted to kill the words. I
have stolen from you and now Ive wrecked your property. Im sorry. To punish
myself, I think I will stop coming here. Or is it punishment at all? I love this
place and hate it, because it is full of words.

You have been a friend to me even though I hurt you, even though I have been
insu ferable (a word I looked up in your dictionary), and I think I will leave
you alone now. Im sorry for everything.

Thank you again.

Liesel Meminger

She left the note on the desk and gave the room a last goodbye, doing three laps

and running her hands over the titles. As much as she hated them, she couldnt
resist. Flakes of torn-up paper were strewn around a book called The Rules of
Tommy Ho fmann. In the breeze from the window, a few of its shreds rose and
fell.

The light was still orange, but it was not as lustrous as earlier. Her hands felt
their final grip of the wooden window frame, and there was the last rush of a
plunging stomach, and the pang of pain in her feet when she landed.

By the time she made it down the hill and across the bridge, the orange light had
vanished. Clouds were mopping up.

When she walked down Himmel Street, she could already feel the first drops of

rain. I will never see Ilsa Hermann again, she thought, but the book thief was