Excerpt of Stick Figure by Carol Kehlmeier

They called him Buddy. He was seldom seen and only spoken of in whispers.

I could recall the first time I saw him, I was just a toddler. I had crawled to the top of the stairs. He was skittering in and out of rooms, closing doors softly behind him.

Clad in white cotton pajamas, he smiled, then seemed to float over to me. taking me up in his long graceful hands, he petted my head like I was a puppy, then kissed my cheek and smiled.

"Mattie, where are you?" Mrs. Benton's voice ruptured the silence.

I looked to the top of the stairs and saw her red curly head bobbing upward. Little by little, her whole self came into view. Grumbling beneath her breath, she walked to us and tore me from his arms.

"Leave her alone, buddy," she said angrily.

He stood with his arms outstretched, then hugged his shoulders as he rocked back and forth.

As we descended the stairway, I looked up and saw him fluttering his fingertips at me.

I seldom saw Buddy. When I did, he would be peeking from behind a door, his hand held to his cheek, waving his long slender fingers in my direction.

He had bony shoulders with noodle-like arms dangling to his knees. He would be frightening with his stiff orange hair poking out in all directions, but he had a melancholic glow in his deep set eyes.

He never talked, but as I grew older, I was certain he understood.

But on those weekly visits to Mrs. Benton's house, while Buster parked the car, I would see the upstairs curtain shiver. As sure as clockwork when I was finished with my bread pudding and went to stand in the doorway, lovely piano music would ooze down through the ceiling above.

I wondered why he stayed on the second floor and if he had a family. I tried listening to Mrs. Benton and Buster, but they never talked about him.

When the visit with Mrs. Benton was ended, no one touched. Buster and I shuffled to the car parked at the curb. He would grumble beneath his breath as the engine first sputtered and shook before it caught and started.

I always looked to the second floor window and waited for the twitching of the lace curtain, knowing Buddy was there smiling and waving to me as the old Ford bounced down the crumbling street.