Immediately afterward, I heard Noble say, "Hey."
I turned and saw him standing there. He didn't look happy, even though I was overjoyed to see him.
"I was afraid you wouldn't know where I had gone," I said. "I haven't seen you for so long."
"That's not my fault. You stopped looking for me. You even stopped thinking about me."
"No, I didn't."
"It doesn't matter. I'll always know where you are," he told me. "And I'll always see you."
I watched him walk around the room, looking at everything.
"It's a nice room, isn't it?" I asked him.
"No," he said. "You have a nicer room waiting for you at home. This room smells like a laundry. Whoever cleans it uses too much soap and polish. It reminds me of a hospital room. And what are you looking out at here?" he continued after he went to the window. "Another house and a busy street. I've already checked their backyard. They don't have a garden; they've never had a garden, and that swing set is pathetic."
"Papa Prescott's going to fix it and make it look brand-new again," I said.
"Papa Prescott?" he said, grimacing with distaste. "That's what they want me to call him."
"Please," Noble said.
He turned around and put his hands on his hips. "They want me to be happy," I told him.
He shook his head.
"You won't be happy here, Celeste," he declared. "Don't ever think or imagine you will."
Then he turned and walked into the darkness of a comer and was gone.
"Noble," I called. "Noble!"
I must have been shouting because Nana Prescott came to my door quickly. She was in her nightgown, her blue-gray hair down to her shoulders. Silhouetted in the hall light, she looked like some deformed creature. Then I did scream.
Papa Prescott came quickly behind her, tying his robe as he approached.
"What is it?"
"I don't know. What's wrong, Celeste, dear?"
She flipped on the light. I was sitting up, staring at the comer in which Noble had disappeared. Tears were streaming down my cheeks.
"Was it a nightmare, dear?" Nana Prescott asked.
She approached me tentatively, hoping for some sign from me that I welcomed her comfort, but all I could do was stare at the corner and hope Noble would come back.
"What was it?" Nana asked now, stopping a foot from the bed. "Celeste?"
I didn't respond.
She turned to Papa Prescott and shrugged. "What should I do?"
"Celeste," he said more firmly. "What seems to be bothering you? Did something frighten you?"
Finally I turned to them and wiped my cheeks, flipping the tears to the side.
"Noble was here, and I'm afraid he won't come back," I said.