JD stood there by that tree steadying himself with one hand. It seemed like minutes had passed, but it was less then one minute when the phenomenon suddenly collapsed like a rubber band snapping back to its original size. There in the midst of this thing he had been fixated on, stood a tall slender creature. At first it looked like a creature, but as JD’s brain and eyesight returned to normal from the shock, he could see it was just a person. A woman with long flowing red hair, golden highlights and steel blue eyes was slowly walking to JD. She was wearing a shimmering gown-like garment. But then she was dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved shirt. JD’s heart was still pounding rapidly. His flight/fight response was frozen in a cloud of indecision mixed with fear and curiosity. In the end, he just stood there glaring.
“Sit down,” the woman said. It was not a command but a request that could not be ignored. Again, there were no actual words spoken. JD slowly slid down the side of the tree and sat there with his knees up. The woman sat down in front of JD.
“Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.” The woman said in a whisper-like voice that sounded exactly like JD’s voice.
JD thought he would try to communicate and establish a friendly contact. It was like an alien first contact scenario. At least for him it was.
“Hello, my name is…” JD started to say.
“John David, but everyone calls you JD,” the woman said finishing JD’s sentence.
“My name is…” the woman started to say
“Kira,” JD said finishing the woman’s sentence.
“Do you remember?” Kira said.
“Yes, well no, I don’t know.” JD said, “It is like a dream fading away. I thought I remembered, but now I don’t. But I do know your name. Have we met?”
“Many times,” Kira said, “But this is the first time here.”
JD sat there, staring with a mash-up of bewilderment, awe, and confusion flooding his brain.
“I don’t understand.” JD said.
“No, you would not.” Kira said, “I must go now. Meet me in the meadow tomorrow just after sunset.”
Then she was gone. She did not walk away or go back through the same strange phenomenon; she was just gone in a blink of an eye. JD sat there under that tree for nearly an hour trying to understand what had happened. JD was very intelligent; he had a PhD in Physics and a Masters Degree in Linguistics and Ancient Languages. He chose to be a mechanic, because he was good at it and, and it helped keep his brain quiet for a while. That is also probably why he loved to come out and photograph anything and everything on the property. What happened today had his brain working overtime. He just could not wrap his head around what he had just experienced. Did he imagine what he saw, was it a hallucination? He was ready to shrug it all off, but his scientific curiosity was going to ensure he would show up in the meadow that next evening.
The next evening it was warm and humid which is not unusual in early November in Texas. There was still a light mist in the air. JD walked up the hill to the meadow that ran along the river. Several spring-fed creeks from the canyon fed into the river that cut the property in half. The meadow was mostly river bottom deposited as the river overflowed its banks during flash floods. Short native grass covered the meadow from the edge of a deer trail to the river’s edge. The early morning fog and mist often seemed to hover just above the tops of the grass. Now just after sunset, it was beginning to be difficult to see much, but it wasn’t difficult for JD to see what he couldn’t believe he was seeing.
Coming from the river was a cloud of blinking lights. It looked like a shimmering cloud of fireflies gliding along the tops the grass. Fireflies normally are seen in the summer wet months. A few could sometimes be seen on warm humid days in November, but this was a cloud of fireflies not a few. Emerging from the cloud was Kira. The fireflies were hovering around the silhouette of her body as she walked.
JD stood there, not in fear, but in complete amazement. He could not turn away, and after yesterday he dared not attempt to take a photo. Kira walked right up to JD.
“Stretch out your arms.” Kira requested without the sound of any words spoken.
As JD stretched out his arms, the fireflies began to swarm around them. His arms now looked like two outstretched lanterns.
“What? How?” JD said, “How is this happening?”
“I asked them.” Kira said, “They were not busy, and they thought it would be fun.”
“You asked them?” JD said, “So you speak firefly?”
“No, silly, fireflies don’t have a language like we do. It’s too complicated to explain, but simple to do.” Kira said.
“I know you have questions, but I have to go right now.” Kira said.
“Questions? Where do I begin?” JD said.
“Sorry, but your questions will have to wait.” Kira said, “I must return home now. I have already pushed the boundaries too much. They will not be happy.”
“Home? They? What is going on?” JD said, “You stalk me and then appear in some sci-fi phantasm, and now you leave without an explanation?”
“Oh, yes, well my appearance was dramatic.” Kira said, “But that was just for show. I thought it would be fun.”
“Look, I am very sorry, but I cannot stay.” Kira said, “I will come back. Meet me by the waterfall, early on the first day of spring. I will hopefully be able to explain more after I talk with them. Will you do that, please?”
“Ok, I don’t seem to have a choice, but I am not happy about it.” JD said.
“Oh JD, chin up and cheer up, you will be just fine.” Kira said.
Then she was gone.
*** End of Part Two ***