The Moonlight

The Book Theif

"January 17th, 2082

I would like to introduce my family. I have a mom, a younger sister, and younger brother. My sister Dee, rudely interrupted my writings from the other night, so I'll just start with her. She's 13 years old, despite that she acts way older. Mother says if she's going to act like an adult, she's going to be treated like one so we are often assigned the same duties such as tend to the garden, make dinner which usually consists of vegetable soup and things similar, fetching water from the river, boiling said water, and taking care of my little brother Chris, and other things that are needed to be done. She's a fireball with a mouth on her, even if you're right she will somehow convince you you're wrong just to get her way. Which works on everybody but our mother, but that doesn't stop her from trying. She's a bit more rebellious than me and my brother, and a daredevil. She gives mom a full on heart attack on the daily it seems.

My little brother Chris is 8 years old. Unlike my little sister, he acts his age. He stays in the house a lot of the time mom doesn't let him get out too much. She treats him like the favorite, but he's also the most isolated. I'm not sure how to describe him. I mean, he's a kid. And mom always chooses his side over mine or Dee's. He gets away with mostly everything. I believe its because he's the last thing she has of my dad. He does sometimes get to venture away from our home, he only gets to leave when he's with me and Dee to get water by the river. Sometimes he gets to play with a boy his age a couple of houses down.

Our mother tries her very best to keep our family from dying to put it simply. She works day and night practically, only resting to get some sleep. She's awake before any of us to scrounge around for something for us to eat. There hasn't been a day that we've gone starving. She spends her morning in the garden trying to keep our main source of food from drying up or dying. During the hottest part of the day she's down by the river washing our clothes or inside making sure the house stays livable. Our house was built before the war. Way before. I think mom said it was built sometime around the 1990s. The house belonged to grandma Loren, she bought it before the war in sometime in the 2020s, the decade of the virus. Grandma stayed here until she passed away in 2074. Grandma Loren was a crazy lady to say the least, the older she got the crazier she seemed. According to mom. I only knew grandma as the crazy woman she was. The ten year war made her crazy and I her two sons dying really sent her over the edge, all she had left was mom. Mom lived with grandma all her life and Grandma's insanity rubbed off on mom. Heightened paranoia and the constant need to stay busy and busy she was."

Vivian shoved the pencil between the pages and closed the beaten notebook. She stood up from the dusty floor of the abandoned house. Where the moonlight provide her enough light to write. She brushed the dust off her legs and behind. She left her happy place and began her walk home. She did her usual routine of hiding in the shadows to avoid getting caught. She maneuvered around each bush, each decaying car, and the homes taken from man and returning to nature. Careful to not make a sound, clenching her book underneath her armpit.

    "Hey- you." A voice called out from the darkness. Vivian stopped in her tracks, darting her eyes around to locate the voice. "Hey lady!" The voice called out once more. This time giving her a location. She turned her head to see a young man, peeking out of one of the abandon house windows. "Is that my fucking book?" The young man asked.

    "I- uhh-" Vivian stuttered for a moment.

    "uhhhh- is that my fucking book?" The man said again. "That's my book ain't it?"

    Vivian gulped, she clenched the notebook harder under her armpit. "Maybe, I uh found it."

    "uhhh no the fuck you didn't. You took it from me. I know its mine, I ripped the back cover in half." The man arose more from the window. The man looked big, maybe Vivian could outrun him. He looked about six foot, had long brown curly hair that was met with a beard and mustache. He was heavier set, an intimidating stature.

    "I've always wanted a notebook." There isn't much out here- They took everything. Everything but the clothes on their back. She approached the window and extended her hand with the notebook in it. "I'm sorry- I just couldn't resist."

    The man took the book from her hands and opened it up. "What is this a diary?"

    Vivian shrugged, "sorta."

    "Do you like to read?" He asked.

    "I only have a few books, but yeah. My dad use to read to me when I was a kid. He loved to write."

    "Have you read Milkweed?" Vivian shook her head. The man disappeared from the window. He re-emerged and extended his arm out to give her what he retrieved. She hesitated for a moment, and took he book from his hands. She examined the cover. The book was worn, tattered on the corners but seemed well loved. A soft smile showed on her lips as she flipped to a random page. Her smile grew wider. "You can keep it. I've read it a million times." He reached for something inside and extended his arm out once more. "And you can keep the notebook. I'm sure I can find another one."

    She grabbed the notebook from his hands and smiled even more, "thank you- uh, I'm sorry I never got your name."

    "Conner. And its no big deal. You live in that house across town right? Maybe I'll see you around?" He asked.

    "Oh- yeah. Thank you Conner. I guess I will see you around."

    Conner cracked a small smile, "get home safe." Vivian nodded, and he hurried back home clenching both books.