Number the Stars

by Lois Lowry

Annemarie went to him and gave him a hug. “But we will see you again soon?” she asked. “I hope so,” Peter said. “Very soon. Don’t grow much more, or you will be taller than I am, little Longlegs!” Annemarie smiled, but Peter’s comment was no longer the lighthearted fun of the past. It was only a brief grasp at something that had gone.

But their shoulders were as straight as they had been in the past: in the classroom, on the stage, at the Sabbath table. So there were other sources, too, of pride, and they had not left everything behind.