Haibun CE 1
Seeing a UFO
First Time
They tried to convince us that dehydration, exhaustion and hunger were the only logical explanations. Climbing began at 6: 00 am: four Germans, five Spaniards, and two Italians. The ascension started smoothly, until half way through we arrived at La Cova del’Aigüa expecting water which was nowhere to be found. By then the sun had already burned holes on our naked shoulders. At 11:00 am the summit was ours, and the thirst almost unbearable. Found peels of lemon were sucked without hesitation. Without a tree, or even a bush, we lay down on the stony surface and hid our faces behind a small boulder hoping to recover.
None of us brought water, and the Germans, who we suspected did carry it, were out of sight. What were we thinking? Under the shade of the boulder, we opened our eyes at something blinking above, a shiny metal boat circled us. The Italians covering their ears couldn’t stop the disturbing sound to became louder, its vibration faster, screechy. Nobody moved for an hour, perhaps more. Water, we needed water. Were we hallucinating? The temperature kept rising and without shade or breeze 100 felt like 120. A Spaniard announced, “I’m running,” and we ran from the sun, the shiny object, and the creepy sound. The metal ship lowered itself, as if inspecting our bodies return to life, not to the ground but close enough for us to glance inside windows. We ran fast, tripped, ran, tripped, until we reached a house at the base of the mountain. The Swedish couple stared behind clear glass for long minutes. Finally, realizing our state and, squinting at the strange object in the sky, opened the door ajar, placed two water pitchers, and two five-gallon buckets on the ground and closed the door shut. While drinking and pouring water over ourselves the unnerving noise and bizarre shiny boat disappeared. To this day, nobody believes us.
Flying shark
circles our bodies
with cosmic fear
C E 3 Seeing
The Encounter
Soil, still warm, beckoned us,
Underground hot springs, perhaps,
Worth to investigate, for sure.
A secret worth to keep between us.
The thermal silence included hollow
Spaces, black holes like in a fisherman’s net
Waiting to be discovered, colors altered
From light to dark as in a Persian carpet
When you move your hand across
The medallion covering its surface.
Cosmic mysteries attracted us.
The open plain, with no grass at the end
Of a hot summer, stirred our curiosity.
That day, the scorched soil glowed
As if a street lamp was turned on,
Fumes rose like cigarette’s rings,
Slowly, white, dense. We coughed.
The slithering of a snake
Disturbed us, and we searched,
Traded obscure stories of ghosts,
Invisible jinns determined to find
What we were about. Us, determined
To find out about the glow, the snake,
The meaning of life at twelve.
It didn’t look different than other
Frogs we had seen in the pond
Behind the small grove of pines,
But its size and the charred snake
Coiled around its arm, shocked us,
Wanted to run from the clearing,
The flickering green light paralyzed
Us, the bravest in the whole school.
We studied evolution, considered
Other species replacing our own,
Knew about brain size, and the head
Of this frog was much bigger than ours.
It stood upright, its forelimbs
Extended four fingers in our direction.
Committed to send a message it spoke,
Or croaked. I shivered when it touched
My arm, felt my upper lip quiver
A warm liquid wet my legs and socks,
My tresses caught fire, before my friend threw her arms
Over pulling me away from green radiation.
She dragged me home, wet and burned.
Psychiatrists assured my parents
The disturbed perceptions
Were due to psychosis.
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