on my head.”
“Have you ever talked to your mother about what’s behind the plastic?” Pia asked.
“Yeah, I’ve tried. But she and Nan just clam up. They won’t talk about it.”
“Why do you think your hand is like Jordyn’s?” Pia probed. “Why do you even sort of look like them?”
“I don’t know.” Deep down though, Kaila knew she was lying.
“You have to know,” Pia said. “I heard Echidna say you were one of them.”
“I know, I know! But I was born in Louisiana! I’ve lived here my whole life. Do you honestly believe that I’m an alien?”
“Don’t get pissed,” Melissa said, patting Kaila’s knee. “We’re only trying to figure this out.” She changed the subject. “Jordyn really likes you.”
“You think?”
“Psssh,” Pia waved her hand. “It’s obvious.”
“Well then, they can’t be all bad, can they?” Kaila asked.
Part of her wanted to dive deeper, to open to explore, to know . But another part was afraid. Deep down, the crux, the root of this was terrifying. This she knew instinctively.
“We didn’t say they were all bad,” Pia said. “The one named Antonia I was talking to seemed real nice.”
“Toby is cool,” Melissa said. “I really like him.”
“He likes you too,” Pia said.
“Well, could it be that what’s happening to you guys is not related to them?” Kaila asked.
“Sure,” Pia said. “But I bet they would know who—or what—is.”
“Kaila,” Melissa said. “You ever listen to that radio show on in the middle of the night: Coast to Coast AM ?”
Kaila shook her head.
“Well, listen to it. It’s on AM radio. Me and Pia listen to it. We have problems sleeping. But on that show, they talk about this. People make fun of this alien stuff. But it’s real.” Melissa lowered her chin. “I’ve tried to lie to myself about what was happening . . . but something is making me . . . um . . . know. ”
“I think this is happening to a lot of people,” Pia said. “Who don’t realize it. That’s the scariest part.”
“Worse than that,” Melissa said. “You can’t talk about it. If you do, you’re crazy.”
“That’s because anything dealing with UFO s is in the closet,” Pia said. “It’s like being gay in the 1700s. You have to hide your true self or be persecuted. Except this is persecution of beliefs and wanting to know the truth. It really sucks!”
“The best thing I ever heard on Coast to Coast radio was this guy who saw a UFO ,” Melissa said. “He was a physicist. After that, his philosophy was to treat everything he heard or read as if it were true instead of immediately dismissing it. He said it opened his mind to lots of things.”
“Cool. Freedom of thought,” Pia said.
“If this is true,” Kaila said, “why do you think that they want people to have no memory of being taken?”
“That’s the question,” Pia answered. “But if you think about it, it can’t be good. There’s a reason they don’t want to make themselves known and they make everything secret. If they were our space brothers and loved us, we wouldn’t feel like this.”
“There’s something weird happening in the whole world,” Melissa said. “It’s like everyone is waking up, or realizing stuff they never did before.”
“Yeah,” Kaila said. “I’ve always felt different from my family. Always knew and heard things they couldn’t. I have a secret too.” She folded her hands.
“Well?” Pia prodded.
“I really like Jordyn. A lot.” There. She’d said it.
“That’s no secret!” Pia laughed.
But the things he’d allowed her to have memory of were secret. Kaila intuitively knew that she wasn’t supposed to talk about what she’d seen. The freezing of time. The implantation of screen memories of a skinned knee over what really happened. Making Mrs. Bourg and her students unconscious. She wanted to tell them, but if she did, they might think she was an alien and not like her anymore. Plus, she
“Have you ever talked to your mother about what’s behind the plastic?” Pia asked.
“Yeah, I’ve tried. But she and Nan just clam up. They won’t talk about it.”
“Why do you think your hand is like Jordyn’s?” Pia probed. “Why do you even sort of look like them?”
“I don’t know.” Deep down though, Kaila knew she was lying.
“You have to know,” Pia said. “I heard Echidna say you were one of them.”
“I know, I know! But I was born in Louisiana! I’ve lived here my whole life. Do you honestly believe that I’m an alien?”
“Don’t get pissed,” Melissa said, patting Kaila’s knee. “We’re only trying to figure this out.” She changed the subject. “Jordyn really likes you.”
“You think?”
“Psssh,” Pia waved her hand. “It’s obvious.”
“Well then, they can’t be all bad, can they?” Kaila asked.
Part of her wanted to dive deeper, to open to explore, to know . But another part was afraid. Deep down, the crux, the root of this was terrifying. This she knew instinctively.
“We didn’t say they were all bad,” Pia said. “The one named Antonia I was talking to seemed real nice.”
“Toby is cool,” Melissa said. “I really like him.”
“He likes you too,” Pia said.
“Well, could it be that what’s happening to you guys is not related to them?” Kaila asked.
“Sure,” Pia said. “But I bet they would know who—or what—is.”
“Kaila,” Melissa said. “You ever listen to that radio show on in the middle of the night: Coast to Coast AM ?”
Kaila shook her head.
“Well, listen to it. It’s on AM radio. Me and Pia listen to it. We have problems sleeping. But on that show, they talk about this. People make fun of this alien stuff. But it’s real.” Melissa lowered her chin. “I’ve tried to lie to myself about what was happening . . . but something is making me . . . um . . . know. ”
“I think this is happening to a lot of people,” Pia said. “Who don’t realize it. That’s the scariest part.”
“Worse than that,” Melissa said. “You can’t talk about it. If you do, you’re crazy.”
“That’s because anything dealing with UFO s is in the closet,” Pia said. “It’s like being gay in the 1700s. You have to hide your true self or be persecuted. Except this is persecution of beliefs and wanting to know the truth. It really sucks!”
“The best thing I ever heard on Coast to Coast radio was this guy who saw a UFO ,” Melissa said. “He was a physicist. After that, his philosophy was to treat everything he heard or read as if it were true instead of immediately dismissing it. He said it opened his mind to lots of things.”
“Cool. Freedom of thought,” Pia said.
“If this is true,” Kaila said, “why do you think that they want people to have no memory of being taken?”
“That’s the question,” Pia answered. “But if you think about it, it can’t be good. There’s a reason they don’t want to make themselves known and they make everything secret. If they were our space brothers and loved us, we wouldn’t feel like this.”
“There’s something weird happening in the whole world,” Melissa said. “It’s like everyone is waking up, or realizing stuff they never did before.”
“Yeah,” Kaila said. “I’ve always felt different from my family. Always knew and heard things they couldn’t. I have a secret too.” She folded her hands.
“Well?” Pia prodded.
“I really like Jordyn. A lot.” There. She’d said it.
“That’s no secret!” Pia laughed.
But the things he’d allowed her to have memory of were secret. Kaila intuitively knew that she wasn’t supposed to talk about what she’d seen. The freezing of time. The implantation of screen memories of a skinned knee over what really happened. Making Mrs. Bourg and her students unconscious. She wanted to tell them, but if she did, they might think she was an alien and not like her anymore. Plus, she
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