“She crouched in the gutter and wept. It all led here. Rudy stood there, next to her. It began to rain, nice and hard. Kurt Steiner called out, but neither of them moved. One sat painfully now, among the falling chunks of rain, and the other stood next to her, waiting. “Why did he have to die?” she asked, but still, Rudy did nothing; he said nothing. When finally she finished and stood herself up, he put his arm around her, best-buddy style, and they walked on. There was no request for a kiss. Nothing like that. You can love Rudy for that, if you like. Just don’t kick me in the eggs. That’s what he was thinking, but he didn’t tell Liesel that. It was nearly four years later that he offered that information and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like the rain.”