Jesus Martinez: Aurora Texas 1967

Why did you keep your grandfather waiting? I have been waiting here for an hour. "We're sorry grandfather. We stayed up late last night." And why did you stay up so late Elias? Were you drinking? Your eyes are red like tomatoes. "We weren't drinking. Elias and I were up until three in the morning writing your words. You have quite an imagination grandfather." Imagination? "Shhh!" You think I am lying? You think I am stretching the truth? "Well you left some things out grandfather. Like the burial and what happened to the wreckage?"

What do you mean? "Just shut up Manuel. Let him finish the story. Don't get him excited again." No Elias. I want to know what he means. Tell me Manuel. "Well no disrespect to you grandfather but take the wreckage for example. If the ship was as big as you say it was it's just hard to believe there were enough people around to take everything away. There must have been something left especially the biggest pieces. You said some of them were stuck in the ground. I didn't see any pieces while driving through Aurora. I didn't even see a water tower where you said there was one. How do you explain that grandfather?"

If I must explain this to you two pendejós then I must sit up. Help me please. Thank you. People from all over took pieces. The judge had no problem with that. It helped to clean up the mess. After all the scavengers took what they wanted they left the biggest pieces in the ground. The judge did not want to use the well anymore because of all the smelly liquids left on the ground by the ship. He was afraid the water would be poisoned. Eventually he dug a new well closer to the house and away from the road.

Yes Manuel. The largest pieces were left there. You could always find smaller pieces scattered around if you looked. Since the judge was not going to use the well they threw a bunch of pieces down the shaft. I heard they almost filled it up. They left the biggest pieces where they were. Even if they used horses where would they put them? The metal pieces were an eye sore but they also brought people from all around to look at them. People would come to hear stories and pick up pieces of metal from the ground. At one point they had a pitiful looking fence around the area. Some townsfolk even earned a few coins giving tours. The wreckage sure made Mrs. Evans happy. Out-of-towners would come into the store while Mr. Evans and others would sit in chairs telling tales about the great airship that crashed into Aurora. You could hear the cash register just clanking away.

"So what happened to the metal pieces?" Eventually things died down. People lost interest in them. Every once in awhile there was talk about clearing them but nothing could ever be decided. Not many men were around to help anyway, especially during the first war. Eventually no one bothered looking at them anymore. They became part of the scenery like the trees. Kids were always told to stay away from the area mainly because of the well and they did.

When the second war broke out everything changed. There had always been a troop around at one time or another. For some reason the military decided to reopen the old soldier base south of Aurora. They brought over a hundred soldiers there and lived in tents. Marching here and there. Marching everywhere. They marched around the old well with small hand equipment picking up pieces of metal. Then the soldiers just took over the town. They set up their headquarters in a building on the north end of town and put armed guards around the judge's old well. There were soldiers everywhere.

They opened the well and set up a wench next to it. Once in awhile you would see a group of soldiers lifting metal out of it or a soldier crawling out of the hole. Every day you would notice that large pieces were not there anymore. One night I was walking home from town and there were several trucks around the well. The soldiers grabbed me and shoved me against the truck. They started searching me and asked a lot of questions. Pointing to my house I told them I was only walking home. They pushed me away and told me to go home another way. I thought they were going to kill me. I did what they said and ran down the road before they changed their minds.

It seemed like forever but eventually the soldiers and metal pieces were gone. Everything was gone. Except for the hole. Cavroñes. They did not even bother to cover it back up. You could not find small pieces on the ground anymore. It was picked clean. For a while the soldiers stayed around the old base but then left it for the weeds. You couldn't even tell they were there. "How come no one from Aurora has said anything about the soldiers grandfather?" It was not just the people from Aurora. They sent soldiers everywhere around here. Looking for people who might have seen the ship or wreckage.

One night the soldiers came banging on my door. They pushed their way in demanding I tell them everything I knew. I told them, "I only saw the pieces in the ground. White people don't often speak to Mexicans. Nobody told me anything!" Then they asked if I had any of the pieces. I showed them what I had and they took them. Satisfied they began to leave. One soldier stopped and told me not to say a word. He looked into my eyes and said, "We know where you live. If you don't do like we say we'll be back. Remember. We know where you all live." He looked at my family with a cold stare. Then left with the other soldiers. No. Not very many people who were around back then ever say a thing. The metal pieces never existed. The whole story is just a lot of bullshit. Can you blame them?

Now lay me back down and I will finish my story. "But what about the body they found grandfather? Whatever became of that? I heard it was buried in the cemetery." You will know that answer soon enough. Now please help me to lie back down. Thank you niòos. "Here grandfather, I will rewind the tape and play where you last left off."

I still do not like the sound of that awful voice. "Never mind grandfather. Just close your eyes." The lady still speaks in Spanish, "When you came near I sent Alom to intercept you." The man who brought us here waves his hand and smiles. The lady goes on, "My name is Ninma. Next to Alom is Balam and that is Insat. Finding you here has become a problem for us. The question is what to do with you?" I cannot stop myself and ask the lady why they are here and about the ship. The one she calls Balam says, "My. What an inquiring young primate." Ninma turns to him and says, "He is just a child Balam. At least he is more talkative than the older one. This may help to solve the dilemma we are in."

The lady steps back with the others and they quietly talk. I do not understand these words so I turn to my father and ask him why he does not speak. He whispers to me, "I do not want to anger them Chuy. These angels are very powerful. It is better to act simple-minded." I do not think they mean us any harm papa. The lady seems very friendly. He warns me, "Be wary of the one she calls Balam. He watches us closely and looks dangerous." Papa. This is no reason why you should not talk to the friendly ones. He looks at them, "Okay Chuy. Ask only questions and do not reveal too much information."

The lady returns and speaks, "We have decided that you should come with us. Where we can explain things in more detail. We will feed you food and you can rest." She looks at me, "Would that be all right with you and your friend?" She turns when my father says, "I am his father. My name is Marcos. This is my son Jesus. We call him Chuy." Her eyes widen. She looks at me and says, "Ah, Jesus. I am pleased to meet you. Your name sounds very familiar. Does it not Insat?" She looks at her companion. He nods his head and smiles. She turns back, "I see the name is popular around here."

She says to my father, "Marcos. Now that you are willing to speak will you give us permission to take you and your son to our home?" My father looks at me and turns back, "You will not harm him?" She answers, "No Marcos. We will not harm either of you. We just want to talk with you in a better place so we can all sit comfortably." Still suspicious my father asks, "And if I refuse?" The lady looks at her companions and back, "That too would be all right. You would just have to stay here with us for a short while so that Balam can return with a tool we use to erase your memory of us. It is nothing that would harm you. It is quick and painless but we cannot allow you to leave without doing this first."

My father thinks and turns to me. I think it will be all right papa. My father looks at Balam who stares back without smiling. He decides, "Okay. We will go with you." We get up from the log and follow her. She and Alom lead us through the trees. Balam and Insat are behind us. The hills are not very tall around here and we quickly get to the top. It is covered in trees and we walk to a clearing behind the hill. When we get there I cannot believe my eyes.

There in the clearing is another ship. This one is not in pieces and looks different than the other. It is on four legs that sit on the ground. My father and I stop in our tracks. Balam and Insat bump into us from behind. Ninma stops and looks back "Do not be afraid. It is our home. We call it a vimana. Please. Come with us." My father and I look at each other. He thinks about it and nods that it is all right. We follow them to the ship. It is large and smooth, rounder than the other one. When we are almost beneath it Ninma stops and turns. Alom has something in his hand.

Ninma explains, "There will be many things you have never seen before. For instance the next thing we will show you is how we enter the vimana. Do not be frightened with what you are about to see. The door will lower from the bottom and will make a loud noise." She nods to Alom. He presses the tool he has in his hand. All of a sudden a loud hissing sound comes from the ship and we take a few steps back. My father puts his arm around my shoulders to hold me close to him. From the ship's belly a door emerges and lowers. As it is coming down I can see a stairway inside. The door quickly lowers and then slows. Lightly sitting on the ground.

Ninma smiles and motions for us to follow, "Please. Come with us." We follow Ninma and Alom up the stairway. Balam and Insat are behind as usual. We climb up into a small room. There are no chairs to sit on and the room is almost empty. The bumpy walls are not of stucco or wood. Instead the walls floor and ceiling are metal like the ship. The stairs below move back up. Two metal planks on top move over them and they close up to make a floor. I begin to walk on the planks but my father grabs my arm and pulls me over. Ninma steps to a cupboard on the wall, pulls out three sets of eyeglasses and brings them to us. The others walk over and get their own. She says, "This is how we cleanse ourselves so that we may go inside the vimana. You must put these over your eyes to protect them. Soon there will be a noise and a bright light will fill this room. You will feel warmth but do not be alarmed. For it will not harm or burn you."

Balam's loud voice echoes in the room, "Their clothes Ninma. Their bodies are still not sterile underneath. They must remove their clothes." Without looking back Ninma rolls her eyes and says, "I knew you would say that." Ninma looks at my father, "You must remove your clothing for this to be effective. I am sorry if this causes any embarrassment but please remove and lay them out separately. I will help you if you like." My father quickly shakes his no and we start taking our clothes off. Laying them on the floor like we are told. It is a little chilly but I feel embarrassed more than anything. My underwear has a big hole in the bottom of it. My father does not look comfortable either. Standing there naked right in front of Ninma. He is trying to cover his privates with his hands and will not look in her eyes.

She hands each of us a set of eyeglasses and shows us how to put them on. Then Ninma puts a hand on each of our shoulders, "Now remember. Do not be afraid." She turns to the others and nods. The room suddenly fills with a blinding yellow light. A loud noise buzzes in the air. My father looks down but I squint and look. Like she said. It feels warm but does not burn. I do not see very much. Except for the shapes of Ninma and my father. They glow in the colored light. Before I get a chance to look at myself it is over.

Ninma asks, "Are you all right?" My father and I look at each other. Then we look down and inspect our bodies. He nods okay. Ninma smiles, "Good. Hand me your eyewear and you can put your clothes back on. We give her the eyeglasses and reach down for our clothes. There is another hissing noise and a door on the other side of the room opens up. Balam and Insat walk out of the room without a word. When we are dressed Ninma and Alom lead us out. We walk into a hallway. It looks like the same metal in the other room. The hallway is curved and I cannot see where it ends.

My father puts his hand on my shoulder as we follow them to the right. As we are walking I let my fingers touch the walls. They are cool and feel like glass. I lift my fingers as we pass a door. When I lower them back it makes a squeaking sound. Alom looks back and my father roughly pulls me away from the walls. We reach a door on the left. Ninma pushes a button and it opens. There is a low rumbling noise that comes from the room. My father holds me tighter. Ninma smiles and they lead us in.

I am tired now. Please forgive me. I thought I could finish the story today but I feel dizzy. "Don't worry grandfather. We understand. You get some rest. If you like we can finish this on Friday and give you a full day's rest." No Elias. I want to finish this tomorrow. My time is getting closer. "Don't talk like that grandfather. You have all the time in the world." A man knows when his time is near Manuel. You are young. It is too far away for you to see for yourself. But I can see it. "Never mind grandfather. You get some sleep. We'll see you at suppertime."