One night in college I was sitting at my desk thinking
longingly of my long-distance girlfriend, Sarah, when I heard a slight rustling
sound behind me, and as I turned I saw a little paper man.
The little paper man is a very knowing and sympathetic sort
of person who visits the loneliest people in the midst of their misery. Perhaps
they are imprisoned, or maybe homesick at summer camp or long-separated from
their girlfriend who lives 3000 miles away in Southern California. Maybe you've
been visited by the little paper man. If so, then you know what a kindly fellow
he is.
He stood about six inches tall from the soles of his paper
shoes to the top of his paper hat. In fact, every inch of him was made from a
single piece of white, college-ruled paper- the sort with faint blue lines and three
holes punched along the left hand side. He could spiral his entire length like
a tight needle so he could slide through a key hole and he could also flatten
himself out so he could slip beneath a door. Like an origami master he could
take the shape of a heart, flowers, the profile of a loved one or really just
about anything. Most often though he took the shape of a dapper little man in a
white suit with faint blue pin stripes who made a distinct rustling sound as he
moved. His voice sounded vaguely like the scratching of a pencil.
He asked me to lift him up onto the surface of my desk,
which I was at first too frightened to do. Afraid of a paper man? Yes. If you
are ever visited by someone so unexpected as a paper man I expect you would
also be a little cautious. However, as I already stated, the little paper man
is a kindly soul, and although I can't say how I somehow felt this. I quickly
overcame my apprehension and carefully lifted him up onto my desk. Being made
of paper he cautioned me to be gentle as he was easily torn. I set him down and
he immediately set about kicking the clutter this way and that until he had
cleared space enough for an 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper to lie flat. Then in a
flash he simply unfolded himself into a crisp, clean sheet of college-ruled
paper. There on the top line, much to my surprise was written in Sarah's
unmistakeable handwriting, "I love you! XOXOxxx Sarah"
I stared at the paper for a few minutes, feeling quite
overwhelmed and also a bit confused as to how I should respond. Then I heard a
little voice instructing me to take up a pen and write out a reply. I looked in
vain for a mouth from which the voice had come, but couldn't find one.
As I put pen to paper and began writing out a response I
distinctly heard the paper giggle as though it were being tickled. I wrote,
"I love you too." and "This is strange, isn't it?," before
signing my name.
After putting my pen down I watched in amazement as the
paper wrippled like the surface of a pond before twisting and folding itself
once more into the shape of a dapper little man in a pin stripe suit. He
saluted me smartly and winked his eye before running toward the edge of the
desk. I heard a thin, scratchy voice yell, "Geronimo!," as he threw
himself over the edge. However, no sooner did he jump then he transformed into
the shape of a paper airplane that caught an upward draft off the radiator and
floated out through the open window.
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