by Kurt Winans
In near perfect harmony Ross and Jessica responded. “Sixty-five years too long.”
Janet then added, “So how do I look for a woman that will be one hundred years old in six months?”
With a multitude of topics that the three of them needed and wanted to discuss, they all knew it would be time consuming.
Hardly knowing where to begin, Janet finally broke the ice by asking Ross and Jessica, “Can you tell me what happened to all of you after my abduction? Start with Robert please, and then we can get to each of you.”
Just then, they once again all heard the thoughts of their host, as the alien was suggesting the four of them could go to a more secluded area of the ship for some privacy. The alien believed he could help answer some questions that Ross and Jessica might have about their mother’s experience, and he also wanted to learn more about the complete life of this human family.
After relocating to the same room where he and the alien had discussed the ramifications of the asteroid impact, Ross began to tell the story of his father. Janet learned that Robert never remarried, and her children seemed quite sure that he had also never slept with another woman. Grandpa Hank had come to live with the three of them soon after Janet had supposedly died, and his primary responsibility was to help Robert with the daily challenges that lay ahead. That included the establishment of routines for raising two young children, while also maintaining the cleanliness of the house.
In some regard Janet was pleased to hear that her husband had never found a replacement for her. At the same time, she also realized that Robert’s life could have been made easier by having another female influence in his life. It was probably also true that Ross and Jessica had suffered by not having a mother figure, or any other woman, around during their developmental years. They agreed with her assessment that those times had been difficult for them, but Grandpa Hank had been a wonderful and supportive role model for nearly four years before he passed away. Their neighbor, Elizabeth Wright, had also been helpful at times, especially after Hank’s death.
Ross and Jessica knew that it would serve no purpose to inform their mother about the darker and less appealing side of Robert’s personality during the post 1957 years, so they left it unsaid. Although he had never raised a hand against them or been verbally abusive, he had also never been much of a father figure with the exception of providing food and shelter. They told her he had remained in the Army until the winter of 1973, but had never attained the rank of General. He had actually fallen two steps short of that personal goal, by retiring from the service as a Lieutenant Colonel. Janet also learned that her husband had lived until November of 1985. He had seen both of their children accomplish many things in their respective lives that they would inform her of in due course.
Janet then listened intently to her children as they told her the story of her own demise. They, and the entire town of Rumley, had always assumed that she had been killed in an automobile accident during the summer of 1957. There was never an opportunity to view the body, because the authorities that handled the case claimed she had been burned beyond all recognition. With that in mind, it seemed logical that the car had been completely burned as well. It wasn’t until the day before his death in 1985 that Robert revealed to only the two of them the story of her supposed abduction. At that time, Robert reminded them both that his wife had been “taken away from them”, but he had never in all the years referred to her as dead.
Jessica reached for Janet’s hand and said, “Mom, dad fully believed in his heart until his dying breath that you were still alive somewhere, and that was why he never remarried.”
Feeling temporarily satisfied by the account of her husband’s life, and her own disappearance, Janet then wanted to hear all about the adventures in each of her children’s lives.
Grandpa Hank had taught Ross early on that ladies should go first, so he said, “Jessica, you start, and I’ll finish.”
There had always been a very strong bond between the two of them, and they sometimes knew what each other was thinking. Jessica knew it would be necessary for her to leave out certain details of her own life experience, or risk revealing some surprises that Ross surely had in store for their mother as he filled in the blanks.
She said, “Alright Ross. Thanks.”
Jessica began by putting her mother’s mind at ease when she informed Janet that the problem with her right leg had not been too much of an inconvenience throughout her life. As was evident, Jessica still wore a brace to give her leg some added support, but had maintained complete mobility for many years. Ross had been very helpful when they were kids by teaching her how to put the brace on properly. He had then worked with her over the years with various exercises to strengthen the leg.
Jessica then recounted her youthful years and the close sisterly friendship that she had developed with a girl named Patty Wright, before moving on to tales of her college years at Rice University in Houston. As the story continued, Janet was overjoyed to hear that her daughter had attended a prestigious university, then been accepted to law school and subsequently enjoyed a successful career. The next aspect of her daughter’s life was even better, as Janet learned that Jessica had parlayed that legal career into a position on the staff of a United States Senator in Washington D.C. After that, she had even worked on staff in the White House. As a mother Janet was very proud, but what she didn’t know yet, was who Jessica had worked for.
Unfortunately Janet felt there was also a sad side to her daughter’s life, as she learned that the wonderful career had been more important to Jessica than raising a family. Her beautiful little girl had never known the joy of getting married and becoming a mother, so there were no grandchildren.
Jessica turned to Ross and said, “Your turn.”
Janet didn’t notice Ross wink at his sister as he replied, “Thank you Jessica.”
Ross began his story by pointing out that both he and Jessica had been the valedictorian of their respective Rumley High School classes of 1968 & 1972, and the girl Patty that Jessica mentioned had done the same in 1969. Ross then informed his mother that he had attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, so that he could pursue his dream of flying jet planes. He had then become a Navy pilot, and fought in a foreign war like his father and grandfather had done in the Army. He also told his mother that before going off to war, he had married that same Patty in June of 1973.
Janet was very excited to hear all that good news, and immediately asked, “Do I have any grandchildren?”
Ross told her she would find out as his story unfolded, and Jessica smiled as she knew their mother would be blown away by what was to come. He continued by adding that shortly after the war he had been accepted into NASA, but then realized it was doubtful his mother would know what that was. He explained to Janet that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration had been founded in 1959. Among many other accomplishments, NASA had landed on the surface of the Moon, and safely returned, six different pairs of astronauts by the close of 1972.
Janet interrupted Ross briefly, and revealed, “I heard a story that mankind had landed on the Moon from a more recent abductee aboard the deep water vessel. The man who told me the story had not provided any specifics other than the fact it had been accomplished. I was unaware when the event took place, or that there had been multiple successful missions.”
Continuing on, Ross informed her that he hadn’t joined NASA until 1975. He had then enjoyed a seventeen year career with them as a still active member of the Navy before moving on to other things.
He smiled at Jessica and said, “Should I tell her now, or drag it out a little while longer?”
Jessica shrugged her shoulders and said, “It’s your story, so tell it the way you want to.”
Ross nodded with agreement, then looked back at his mother, and said, “This current journey is actually my fourth venture into space, as I rode aboard a rocket vehicle on three separate occasions during my NASA years.”
Janet was amazed that her son had done such a thing, but she hadn’t heard the most interesting aspect of his story.
He continued by adding, “On the last of those missions, in November of 1985, I became the thirteenth human to set foot on the surface of the Moon.”
Ross then took a few steps to his right. He placed his hand on the shoulder of his old alien friend, and said, “That was just a few weeks before dad passed away, and it was also when I first met this very alien!”
Janet staggered, and her mouth fell wide open from shock for several seconds before she regained her poise. She looked directly at Ross, and then briefly glanced in Jessica’s direction for some sign of verification. A few seconds later, she looked over and down at the alien. She heard a voice in her head from the alien’s thought projection that was confirming Ross’ claim.
Ross would fill his mother in on more of the details surrounding his friendship with this specific alien at a later time, but he wanted to complete the tale of how he had lived the second half of his life on Earth. First, he informed Janet that she indeed had two grandchildren. He and Patty were the proud parents of two women named Aurora and Rachel. After their daughters had grown into adulthood, he and Patty had become the grandparents of two children from Rachel. Janet smiled broadly at the news.
She then wept with joy when Ross said, “There’s a boy named Luke, and then a little girl Janet, who was named after you mom.”
While drying her eyes, Janet listened carefully as Ross continued. She learned that he had worked in Austin for twelve years after leaving NASA in 1992, but he had been non-specific about his job. Ross and Patty had then moved the entire family, including Jessica, to Washington D.C. in 2004. That was done so that he could take on the responsibilities of a new job. They had remained there for nearly eighteen years until volunteering to climb aboard this alien transport vessel.
Janet put a few pieces of the puzzle together, and asked Jessica, “Is that when you started working for a United States Senator?”
“Yes mom, I did start working on Capitol Hill about the same time that Ross moved the family to the east coast.”
Janet looked back at her son and said, “Ross, you still haven’t told me where you were working in Washington D.C.”
“Actually mom, I was working very closely with Jessica, because I was the United States Senator she spoke of!”
Her mouth fell wide open again in disbelief, and then Janet looked over at her daughter.
Jessica nodded her head positively and said, “It’s true. Ross was a United States Senator representing Texas for twelve years, and I proudly served on his staff for the entire time.”
Janet gave Ross a hug, before cupping his face in her hands as she told him how proud she was of him.
Looking into her eyes he said, “There’s more to the story than that mom.”
Janet waited through several long seconds of silence before briskly asking, “Well, are you going to tell me or not?”
Ross clasped both of her hands fearing that she might faint after hearing his next statement. He said, “Jessica was also on my staff in the White House, because until I resigned from office a few days ago, I was the President of the United States!”
Ross quickly wrapped his arms around his mother to keep her from falling to the ground. She had nearly fainted, and Jessica stepped in to lend a helping hand. Janet was fine after a moment or two, but had definitely been overwhelmed by the discovery of what her son and daughter had become.
Jessica looked at Ross and said, “I think I should go retrieve a few things from our sleeping quarters that mom should see, and I’ll come back as soon as possible.”
He nodded in agreement as he said, “That’s a good idea, and we really need to show her everything.”
A few moments later Aurora, who had been sleeping rather soundly, groaned as her Aunt Jessica continued to shake her into consciousness. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked at her aunt and said, “What’s the matter with you, and why are you so insistent on waking me up?”
With a huge smile on her face, Jessica said, “There’s something going on that you will want to be part of. Take a quick moment to get yourself together, because your father and I would like you to meet someone.”
Jessica turned to retrieve a few photographs that she had brought along in her backpack, and added, “You should probably brush your hair before we go.”
Meanwhile Ross had heard a voice in his head again, as the alien asked if there was anything that could be done to help the situation. Ross seized that opportunity to request a few things of his old friend. First, he asked if the alien could become more involved with questions and answers that might arise during the group discussion. Up to that point Janet, Ross, and Jessica had been revealing aspects of their life adventures, but the alien had remained mostly silent. Ross also wanted the alien to be more informative about some of the characteristics of his own species. There was a certain physical feature that was present on some members of the alien species, and Ross couldn’t have been the only human on board the transport vessels that was curious about it.
Jessica returned, while clutching two significant photos in her hand, and Aurora was just a few steps behind her. She presented the old black and white picture of the family that was taken when she was a little girl to Janet, and informed her that Robert had kept it on his nightstand until the day he died. She had then kept the photo in good condition for memory sake until this very moment, and planned on cherishing it for the rest of her days.
Janet smiled as it showed the four of them on the front porch steps of the family home in Rumley, and said, “I vividly remember the day this photo was taken.”
Ross interrupted as he brought Aurora to within a few feet of Janet and said, “Aurora, I would like to introduce you to your grandmother Janet, and Mom, this is my oldest daughter Aurora.”
Janet had already become somewhat numb from all the amazing information that her two grown children had recently provided, but the same could not be said for Aurora. It was her turn to gasp in disbelief after hearing what her father had said. She reached out her hand in ladylike fashion while uttering, “It’s very nice to meet you Janet.”
Janet returned the pleasantries as she took the woman into a loving embrace, and said, “This has all been quite a shock to me as well dear.”
Not knowing what else to do, Jessica showed her niece the old black and white photo. Aurora had seen a copy of the photo at some point during her life, and knew that the young boy in the group was her father. She also was aware that the little girl was her Aunt Jessica, and the man was her grandpa. She had only seen him a few times when she was very young before he had passed away, but she still had the flag from his funeral. Now she took a closer look at the woman in the photograph, and realized that it was indeed the same woman who was standing in front of her.
Jessica thought it was a good time to show Janet the other photograph she had brought with her. That way her mother could have a visual account of what the rest of the family looked like. Jessica identified who everyone was in the color photo that was taken when Ross was the President, and Janet smiled with delight.
She asked the obvious question of, “When do I get to meet Patty and the rest of our family in person?”
To which Ross responded, “You won’t mom, because the three of us are the only ones who came on this pilgrimage.”
He and the ladies could provide Janet with more of the details later, but Ross informed her that only they believed in this endeavor strongly enough to partake in the journey.
Suddenly they all heard the thought projections of the alien in their heads, and learned that another of his species would arrive soon. Why another alien would be joining the group discussion was unknown, but it soon became perfectly clear. The same physical feature that they had all been curious about was clearly visible on the back of the second alien’s head.
While pointing toward the second alien, Ross looked at his
old friend and asked the obvious question, “Can you please explain why the back of your head doesn’t have four tentacles like his?”
Ross and the others waited patiently for a responsive thought from the alien, but nothing came. Ross decided to compound his question with, “Does that physical trait grow or shrink with relation to how your species ages?”
With that Janet offered that she had seen several aliens, both with and without the four tentacles, during her captivity on the deep water vessel. She had always believed they were somehow related to gender as opposed to age.
After several seconds of awkward silence, Jessica shook her head negatively from side to side and responded to the alien’s thoughts by saying, “No, I thought they had something to do with gender as well.”
Aurora then added, “I was thinking that they might be reproductive organs of some sort.”
Ross realized that the alien’s thought question must have been directed at only the two of them, because he had not heard it in his own mind. Janet had been silent after her initial comment, which suggested the same was true for her.
Suddenly a thought projection came through that all four of them must have heard, as the alien was informing them it was time to reveal his entire anatomy. They all continued to hear his thoughts of explanation as the alien turned away from them. He reached up toward the back of his head to pull part of his scalp away. Two long slits in the skin that resembled the shape of a large “X” began to open up slightly, and four tentacles roughly six inches long unfolded from the smooth surface of the skin. Ross moved closer to get a better look, and the three ladies followed suit. There was no apparent need to fear the appendages, but Ross was denied permission when he asked if he could touch one.
The tip of each tentacle, from near where the two slits had crossed over each other, was thin and moved about both independently and somewhat wildly. As each tentacle became wider and thicker further from the tip, they also became less flexible. There was a thin layer of skin or flesh below the now open area on the back of the alien’s head, so there seemed to be no direct exposure to the brain area.
