E-Mail: zbutler@ou.edu

It was around midnight in the Brazilian city of Recife. Most everyone was locked safely away in their homes and apartments. Not Antonio though. He was planted at a local cantina with a drink in one hand and his head in the other. The shear number of drinks he had consumed since three that afternoon were starting to take a toll on him.

It had been a weird couple of years for the Brazilian native. Strange events had occurred in his life that forced him to take stock in all that was around him. This pressure had become too much for this simple man to take. Hence, the mass consumption of alcohol in this somewhat run down cantina.

“You done their pal? I mean…..You can drink till the cows come home for all I care….Just as long as you have the money,” the burly man behind the bar said.

“I have the cash buddy…..Don’t you worry about me. Just keep it coming…” Antonio said in his stupor.

The bartender shrugged and went off for another bottle when the door to this dilapidated hole in the wall excuse for a cantina swung open. A gust of wind blew napkins and trash across the stained floor as a lone figure walked up to the bar.

“Where’s the bartender, mister?” asked the figure standing next to Antonio.

Without looking up, Antonio mumbled, “Empty…….Back…….Bottle…….Get….”

“Good. So that will give us some time to talk,” the figure said.

“Why would I want to…” Antonio started. Looking up he noticed that the man standing next to him was in a suit and tie. Out of place given where they were. “Why would I want to talk to you?” Antonio continued hesitantly.

“You know why…..Let me hear the story in your own words,” the figure stated plainly.

“No…..I don’t want to. I don’t want to remember that night.” Antonio pleaded.

“You will tell me what happened and you will tell me right now,” the figure stated in a calm yet frightening way.

“But….” Antonio started.

“You will…..” the figure answered.

“What about the bartender?” Antonio asked.

“Don’t worry about him. He won’t be back for awhile. Go on with your story,” the figure answered in that calm voice of his.

“What’s there to tell really?” Antonio started. “It was two years ago and I was twenty-three. I was working in my parents’ field at night because working in the heat of the day was just impossible. I was out there with a couple of family members when I first saw something strange off in the distance. We all stopped what we were doing and just watched this weird formation of lights a ways away. We didn’t pay much attention to it and went about our work. For the next ten nights or so we saw the same strange lights and they seemed to get a little closer every night.

“On the fifteenth of October I found myself out in the fields working alone because the rest of the family were off doing something else. There I was, working hard and those lights showed up again. This time they got so close that I realized that it was much more than just lights. It had shape……It had form…….And it was hovering right about me. I was scared. All of a sudden a bright light beamed down from the craft and surrounded me. It was bright. Real bright. It was so bright that I couldn’t even see the headlights from my tractor a little distance away.

“I couldn’t take it anymore and I made a dash for my tractor. I got to it and hopped up in there hoping to get away…..But it wouldn’t start….The lights dimmed out and the engine wouldn’t turn over. I…..I…...I didn’t know what to do. So I hopped down and started to run back to the house.

“All of a sudden a small hand wrapped itself around my arm. It was unusually strong. I glanced over and saw a tiny figure attached to this hand. It came up to my shoulder. I just pushed the figure down and kept running. I didn’t get more than a few yards away from that figure when three other figures surrounded me…..They grabbed me…..And…..And…..We lifted off the ground…..I’m not crazy I tell you…..”

“Continue with your story,” the man in the suit said.

“Well…..The next thing I know we’re in some sort of room. I suppose it was aboard the craft that I saw in the field. These figures were strange looking. They had somewhat human features, but they wore these suits. I had never seen any sort of suit and helmet combination like this before in my life.

“They were incredibly strong for being as small as they were. And their voice…..Their voice……I will never forget their voices……I had never heard anything like that before in my life…..I can’t even reproduce what it sounded like…..I could only liken it to animal grunts….It still gives me shivers to think of it right now…..

“All of a sudden these figures started to undress me….I pleaded and begged for them to leave me alone, but they wouldn’t pay any attention. They just kept removing my clothes. Soon enough I was naked and they were rubbing me down with some sort of clear liquid and taking samples of my blood. They then led me into another room and left and shut the door….

“I was in there for about an hour. There was some sort of couch with no legs in there and a weird rubber looking bed. I paced around for awhile when some sort of grayish smoke came from holes in the walls…..The stench was incredible. It made my stomach turn. I choked….I gagged…..I was forced to go into a corner and throw up…..

“When I was cleaning myself up I could sense there was someone behind me. I turned around, and before me, in a doorway, was a naked woman…..I was shocked…..I just stared at her……She slowly entered the room and the door slid shut behind her…..She simply approached me quietly….Not saying a word…..While she was all woman, there were features about her that were odd….High cheek bones….Thin lips……Pointed chin….

“I didn’t know what she wanted until she walked up to me and pressed herself against me…..Then everything was made clear…….I knew why she was there and I couldn’t help but get excited. My passion took over for some reason and the rest was history…..We had two sexual encounters that night. It was weird though…..She never made any noise at all during the whole thing…..After about an hour or so we finished and someone came into the room and called for her. She simply got up, smiled, and pointed to her belly, and left…..

“The guy came back a little later and returned my clothes. After I had gotten dressed he led me through the ship and pointed at several objects as if I were on some sort of tour. When all was done he simply led me outside, and the ship left……From what I could tell, a little over four hours had passed since seeing the object…..So there you go….There’s my story……What are you going to do?”

“Me? Nothing…..Nothing at all……The bartender will be back in thirty seconds….Thank you for your time….” the man said. With that he got up from the stool he was on and left…..

The bartender returned just as the door shut behind the man. “This is the last bottle bud. Take it easy on this one,” the bartender said.

Antonio looked up and said, “No……It’s alright pal……I think I’ve sobered up……” Antonio threw some money down on the bar and left not knowing what just happened…..

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