Dr. Juan Moisés De La Serna
Do UFOs Exist?
I stared at him, I suppose, with a silly face, because he laughed out loud.
— Dude, that’s right, thanks to you, I’m going to go to places that I have wanted to visit all my life, so it wasn’t fair to charge him. You have given me the push I needed, and in return I will take you there for free. Yes, I know that you don’t understand it now, but you’ll see how in your moment you do understand everything.
And without more he turned around and when he was walking away to get into his cabin I heard him saying:
— Fasten your seatbelt tight, we´ll be off in a few seconds.
I stood there without knowing what to say. I looked and in my hand I still had the bundle of bills he had given me. Why would he have done it?
I did not understand him. He had told me that at the moment he would not understand it, of course! How could he understand that strange ability? That I would have hired him the day before and I´d have given him the money that we had agreed, and that at the beginning of the trip, I would return that money.
It was incomprehensible of course, and I also remembered in those moments that he told me that later on he would surely understand it. What did he expect would happen later? I got an answer which was absolutely absurd. The pilot will take me in his plane for free. What strange things happened to me!
Half asleep I was going when surely a “turbulence”, as the pilots say, made me hit my head , and I got up, looked around to see what was happening and I found myself up there in that plane.
I was sitting and next to me there was my backpack, the one that had all my belongings. I said to myself “What could you tell me if you could speak?” And smiling, I looked at it again, and I said again “You better stay quiet, because surely there would be times that you would not let me get into any of the problems we have experienced together.”
— Take over that belt. We’re already arriving — I suddenly heard the pilot saying.
I instinctively reached out my hand and saw that he was tight, and I thought “Well, if he’s not a good pilot, a little belt won’t be useful.”
Instead of belts, what they should give to those who take planes is a good helmet for the head, one of those worn by motorcyclists, so if people are given helmets, their heads will not be hit.
“Well — then I thought —. Really, what else gives a tap on the head. If this device falls, I will not tell the story in any way.”
When I was thinking about it, I saw through the window that was next to my left shoulder, some nearby trees, and at the moment the pilot was already slowing down. “Good — I thought —. This time I’m free!”, and before I could think anything else, I already had the pilot encouraging me to go ashore.
— Well, we started the adventure, I’m all ears. You give orders my friend because you´re the one who understands best — said the man, to whom he had a good mood.
I looked at him surprised, but what was this man saying to me? That he was coming with me? I had no plans for that. I just wanted to continue, as usual, with my things, but without company, and above all, what kind of company was this old man offering me? Come with me?
That was impossible. If he seemed like he couldn’t take two steps with that skinny body, what was he trying to achieve? Climb? How?
— Friend, I am stronger than I seem, do not be influenced by appearances, surely I can keep up with you and that I will not be a hindrance at any time” he said and was standing there looking at me very seriously.
<<<<<>>>>>
I was sleeping peacefully in this paradise, never in my entire life had I imagined that such a place could exist. I had taken a bath in the waterfall water. What a delight! It came to me wonderfully, after the long walk.
We picked up a fruit along the way which we ate sitting quietly in the shade and we both commented on how it was possible that there were still places with this charm.
— I’m sure no one has ever been here — Peter said to me —. If someone had discovered it, they would have already taken care of spoiling it. I do not know what we have that we cannot stay quiet and whenever we touch something, we break its harmony.
— Come on! Don’t be exaggerated — I replied —. We have done something well, I say, don’t be so fatalistic!
— Well, yes, something sure, but what? Come on! I invite you to reflect a little and find me a place where the man has put his hand and has improved it. I’m sure you’re not going to find any of them, it’s just that we are like this. What are you going to do? We have little hands, we’d better stand still.
— Come on! Keep eating, don’t tell me it wasn’t worth getting to this place — I said, while I threw myself another bite of that delicious wild apple.
— No, if the place seems wonderful to me, that’s not what I’m talking about, but look, if by any chance it occurs to us to stay here to live to enjoy all this, don’t you think we would have to make some arrangements for it, to make it livable? And every thing we do for our comfort would be to spoil nature, which if it has it that way is because that is how she likes it, who owns it, and not as intruders who want to put it, modifying the environment. Do not tell me that you have not been tempted to tell me that you would stay here to live, because the truth is that as soon as I have seen it, I have said, this is my place!, from here I do not move anymore, whoever wants something mine has to come up here.
— Dude, I see you’re an exaggerated — I said, smiling.
— Exaggerated! What do you say? When I saw that crystal clear water falling into the lake, I was delighted. I have been a long time without being able to stop looking at it, until I have decided to take a bath, I did not want to break the harmony of the moment, but I said to myself, what the hell! This place is so magical. I want to belong to that magic, and when I have immersed myself in it, it is as if my whole body, at the same time that I was feeling its freshness, was recharging something. I don’t know how I could explain it to you. Do you know what happens to a cupcake when you put it in the milk bowl? It swells. Well, I have had that feeling for a moment, it has been as if I was filling myself with something that was entering my body. I could not tell you, but it was a delicious sensation. I think I have never felt anything like it in my life.
— But Peter, we have already visited many places and you have always found some charm, I think in all of them.
— Yes, it is true because all the sites have their… I don’t know, I like them, I can’t help it! But this one, my friend, this one I tell you, is unique. What I have felt as soon as I have looked at this place, I would not know how to explain it in words, but what I do tell you is that I do not move from here. If you want to continue with that task, well, I have already found my place, and I think I will stay. Yes, every moment I spend here I am more determined to it, and also sure that I can adapt to the site without making any changes. I am sure that the place will welcome me and I will be able to spend the rest of my days there — he was saying very convinced.
— Come on! Don’t be exaggerated. How am I going to leave and you stay here? That can’t be possible. Look, if you want we can be here for a while, living, both of us, I don’t know what you want, anyway they are waiting for us nowhere, but then one day we will have to leave. This site is fine, I do not discuss it, it is wonderful, but listen to the task that we have in our hands, we are not going to abandon it, at least for the moment, I think we still have a lot to do — I said to try to distract him from his idea.
I was a little thoughtful, I did not know what my friend meant with that he was staying here. Yes, I understood the words, but I think there was another meaning that I did not quite understand, and I asked him quietly:
— Peter, did you feel like this is your place?
— Yes — was his flat reply.
— How? — I asked again with fear, since I was already dreading the answer.
— I have been with you for several years traveling different parts of the earth, and you know because you know me perhaps better than I do myself, that I do not make drastic decisions.
— No, that’s not your thing. I know that well — I replied.
— Well, now I want you to understand that if I told you that, it’s because that’s how I feel it and I think that’s the way it should be, and I shouldn’t leave this place. I cannot give you any more explanations because I am not clear about it either, but I would like you to respect my decision, as you have done so many times, that even though the place, where I asked you to be smiling, always smiling, was very rare, because dear friend, that’s what I like most about you, your smile. Well, as I was saying, with a smile on your face you said to me “Well, we don’t have anything better to do, why not?.” And we prepared everything to start an adventure to that place again — Peter was saying to me in a very serious tone.
— Yes, I don’t know where you have always got your ideas, but the passing of the years has proven me right, following your “hunches” like flames, we have gone to unusual places and we have had experiences that, if it had not been for you, we could never have had them.
— Look, well the same as in those times that you are referring to. In these moments I am having that hunch, here is where I must stay. I do not know if it will be for a long time or for a short time, that answer is still not very clear to me, but I must let you go, and I must be alone here. It is a stage of my life that I must go through in solitude, and do not think that it will be easy for me to get away from you, you have accustomed me to your morning ditties, those that I do not know where they come from but that make me wake up with joy, because its lyrics always invite you to have a good day, and I recognize that it is a great way to feel positive, even though I have ever told you to let me sleep a little more, that the previous night we had been seeing the stars until very late.
— Peter, do you remember when we met?
I don’t know why I asked him that in that instant, but his mention of the ditties had brought to mind that moment.
— Of course! How do you pretend I forgot it? I was on the motorbike, so calm, I wasn’t in a hurry and that’s why I was going so slowly, when I passed that field I heard someone sing. The truth is that I found it amazing, a guy there singing to the moon. I couldn’t believe it!
At first I thought, and excuse me, but I don’t think I could think another thing. I thought you were like a vat, and I stopped the bike, because the lyrics of the song seemed beautiful to me. I was there listening, I don’t know how long. You did not get tired of saying those things, which I had never heard in my life, and certainly they could not have occurred to me, so I did not have the slightest doubt of waiting for you to finish, I had to talk to you. After listening to it for a while, I understood that he was not drunk. A person who says these things is very sane. What was evident was that you thought that no one was listening to you, although the lyrics clearly showed that you were saying it to someone.
— But were you there for a long time? We’ve never talked about it.
— Well, I don’t know when you had started, but my time flew by, it was very interesting. You know, you seemed like a minstrel of those who speak the books that in the Middle Ages narrated the events in the form of songs. That was what I heard that night, a series of inexplicable events for me in those moments, but the more I continued to listen to it the more they hooked me, as they say, all that, that you seemed to have very clear became more and more interesting and that’s why I waited for you to finish. I didn’t want to interrupt you, what you were doing was very important to you, I noticed that immediately.
<<<<<>>>>>
— Today we have History, gentlemen!
The professor was talking very seriously, we all knew it, of course he was the history professor. What was he going to give us? We did not understand very well why he had told us that.
The whole class was surprised, we looked at each other, until one of the classmates, possibly the one who had less patience than the others, could not wait any longer, said:
— Sir, we already knew that.
— Yes, I know — he replied —. But what I am sure you do not know is the topic we are going to deal with — said the professor, putting a big smile on his face.
He had our full attention, it was the first day of class, and that it started that way, we all found it very strange, so we were quiet to see where it came from. What would he want to tell us?
— Have you ever heard of Charlemagne? — he asked very seriously.
— No! — was the general reply.
— Well, I’m sure he was the brother of Alexander the Great, and that Magno was his last name — said one of the companions.
— No! — said the professor —. They did not get to know each other.
— Well, at least they would be cousins — said another of the companions.
— I doubt that, but let’s continue with what we were. Charlemagne, who was the king of the Franks and the Lombards, was crowned Emperor Augustus by Pope Leon III in the year 800 in Rome. He was the son of Pipino el Breve, and fought against the Muslims in his advance through the Iberian Peninsula, until he was defeated at Roncesvalles.
He told us his story, how good it was! It was interesting, but we got tired of it because it was getting longer, and we were beginning to hear some whispers in class.
— What a problem! — was suddenly heard from the back of the class.
The professor, that old man, taking off his glasses, leaving them very calmly on the table, got up and said:
— Do you think that’s a problem? And if I tell you something…
— Yes, but don’t let it be another problem — he heard himself being told, interrupting again.
He was very thoughtful, in silence, so he was that way a few moments. We thought he was angry, and he was planning something to punish us.
It was the first day of class, and it seems that we had started off on the wrong foot, but what would not be our astonishment, when he returned to speak he asked us:
— Who knows what a UFO is? — And he fell silent again.
We all look at each other for a moment and then we laugh.
— Why are you laughing? Did I say something funny? — asked the professor.
— A UFO? That doesn’t exist! — jumped one from one of the last rows, those who sit there because they want to interrupt, without anyone knowing who it is.
— What happens? Haven’t you seen them? That’s why he makes that statement — Don Carlos replied.
The whole class was very quiet, we were expectant.
— Has anyone seen them? — he asked suddenly.
— No! — was everyone’s answer.
— Then why do they say they don’t exist? They can only say that they haven’t seen them. Come on! I say, that it would be their correct answer.
We laughed, we thought he must be joking, but the very serious one kept saying:
— Have any of you been to Egypt and seen the pyramids?
We all naturally answered “no”. What a question he was asking us.
— Then they don’t exist? — he was asking us very seriously.
— Of course them exist! — most of us who were there told him —. There are a lot of photographs of them in many books. How can they not exist? Is it that you have not seen them? — we asked puzzled.
We did not fully understand what he wanted to tell us.
— Yes, but even if there are those photos that you say, we have not seen them, because you have told me that you have not been there. That is true, right? — he asked us again, but before we answered, he continued —. Look! If I ask you if you have seen our beautiful Cathedral, you will all tell me “of course!” How can you not see it?
So, as you have seen that it exists, there is no doubt about it, but if I ask you if the Chinese have seen it, surely your answer is no, or at least most of them. Some of them may have been sightseeing and have seen it. Then, for those who have not come, our Cathedral does not exist, because they have not seen it, as it surely happens to you with your Great Wall, that it is possible that some have never even heard of it. Look! All this problem, as you say, I have released it, so that you understand that, although one does not know or have not seen a thing, it does not mean that it does not exist, of course our Cathedral, the Chinese Wall and the Pyramids exist.
— What about UFOs? Do they exist too? — a classmate asked from the back of the class, laughing.
— Gentlemen, I have not seen them, so I do not know if they exist or not, but Charlemagne does say that they exist, because he tells us the story that he saw them.
His words shocked us, that could not be true! But the teacher continued to tell us that the existence of whatever that is, because it is not very clear, it has been trying to be demonstrated for a very long time and although there is evidence of their existence, it has never been admitted because there have been more detractors on the issue, and that when someone claims to have seen them, the opinions are more powerful than those who say that they do not exist.
We were all very quiet, and he, hearing the bell that indicated that the class had come to an end, said to us:
— Gentlemen, this is the work that you will have to present me at the end of the course: is there life elsewhere apart from Earth?
Look, I have had different classes in all my student years, but it has never been any like that.
The professor left, and we all, we all stayed there debating the theme. It seems that it had captured our full attention because it was the most interesting course of the whole course of studies.
We made study teams, some in favor of the existence of these alien beings, and others to look for evidence of the contrary.
When we had free time, one of the small groups could be seen through the corridors or sitting on the campus lawn, debating something we had found, and it was also a topic that was spread through the university and many students from other courses joined us in that study, which every time we progressed, it became more exciting.
A few days before having the first holidays, we had so much accumulated material that we wanted to share it with the teacher and we asked him to give a class just to talk about it.
He did not want, he said, no, that it was an end-of-course project, and that we should continue with him. That initially left us a little disappointed. We wanted to know what the other groups had, and at the same time we needed to communicate what we had discovered, but Don Carlos was blunt:
— No! Let´s not anticipate events, everything in due course.
And as much as we insisted, he did not give in and we had to put up with it, but of course, the teachers, you know, are the smartest, that’s why they are teachers.
That refusal made us even more interested in the theme, and we no longer did it only as a class assignment, but rather that some of us were so interested that our involvement has lasted us all our lives.
<<<<<>>>>>
— How many years? — I heard behind my back.
— What do you say? — I turned and asked.
— Yes — he said again —. How many years have we been in this?
— Well, right now I don’t know — I replied.
It was true, I had no idea how long it had been since we started.
— Exactly nine years ago — he replied very seriously.
— How? How do you know that? — I asked curiously.
— Very simple, because it’s my birthday, and although I tell myself every year that I’m not going to have one more year, I still remember how I met you.
— And that? — I asked Enrique, everything seemed strange to me.
— Look, I was in that bar, drinking a few beers, that’s precisely because the next day was my birthday, and I wanted to celebrate it, and what better than lying down all day!
— Lying? — I interrupted, asking, puzzled by what I was hearing.
— Of course! after a good drunkenness, what do you think it happens? Well, the best way for it to happen is to be sleeping, and thus not think about which the day it was. Well, at least that was my intention, that´s why I already had a few in my body when you stood there by my side.
— What do I have to do with all that? — I asked, since I didn’t understand why he had mentioned that.
— Look, the first thing I looked at was your vest, that was the truth, and I said to myself “That would be a good birthday gift”. I liked it from the first moment I saw it, the pocket was so big, I don’t know! It was like a whim of a child, when you go to the park to play and there is another child with a ball over there and he stars crying and no one can stop him because they don’t give the ball to him. If he wants it, he doesn’t understand why he can’t have it, because something similar happened to me. I wouldn’t know how to explain it.
— And that’s why you asked me if I sold it to you? — I said, remembering that moment that seemed so strange to me.
— Of course! If not, why? Would it have been better if I had tried to take it from you by force? That was not my style, but the truth is that your answer made me laugh. Do you remember which one it was? I did, of course, but don’t tell me that you also remember it.
— I can’t give it, friend, because he’s like my second skin, without him I wouldn’t know how to live — I said —. Of course I remember it very well.
— How exaggerated! It seemed to me at that moment when I was listening to him, but he made me think of one thing. I had nothing in my life that could mean so much, that was so important, and that’s why I wanted to talk to you. You seemed like a good boy to me, any other, maybe he would have been upset because I had spoken to him, but not you. You had answered me correctly, without leaving my side, despite the state I was in and how absurd my request must have seemed to you.
— Well, what’s all this about now? Tell me, are you feeling sad?
— Well, in that conversation you told me what you had come to look for in that bar, that you did not like to drink, but you understood that perhaps in that place they could tell you something that would help you find what you needed. A good pilot, and yes sir, there I was in front of you, listening to you, and fascinated by your proposal, which I had not heard for a long time, because my fondness for drinking had run like wildfire through the environment and nobody needed my services.
— But why do you remember all that now? — I asked a little surprised.
— For a long time I spent my time in that bar, and I saw an opportunity in your need. You were a foreigner, then possibly you would not know anything about my fame, and when I told you that I had a plane, something lit up in your eyes. Something, I don’t know how I could tell you, but I liked it, and I said to myself “I have to help this guy”, and I remember that at that moment I left the bottle in my hand. I was no longer interested in keeping on drinking, you had captured all my attention only when you started telling me why I needed it, I already felt inside me that this would be the trip of my life. Then I asked you for that amount of money, which I already know was excessive, but you have to forgive me, you know I was a little drunk, but the strangest thing was that after thinking about it for a bit, you agreed to give it to me, and not only that, but you got out of one of your multiple pockets a wad of bills and right there you put them in my hand.
— Yes, I do remember that, I wasn’t really determined to give them to you, really, but I said to myself “If he doesn’t take me, I don’t know how long I’m going to spend until I find someone who can,” and that was what decided me, I said to myself “I’ll try to save on other issues”, because the truth is that, if I gave you all that you had asked me, I would have little money left for the rest of the trip. Enrique, tell me the truth, were you so interested in that issue? Or did you accept because you had nothing else to do at that time?
— Look, dear friend! I think we’ve talked about it a few times, but not so intimately so that I would tell you my deepest secret…
He stay quiet. I respected his silence, but as I saw that he was saying nothing and the time passed, I decided to ask him that, quietly, as if not wanting to disturb him:
— Look! If you still think that you should not deal with that issue, we will leave it for another time.”
— No! I think one day it had to come, and that moment seems to me to have come — he was saying very seriously, staring at me.
— Well, if it seems to you, I’m all ears — I replied, since I wanted him to know that whatever he would tell me, he could trust me.
— Look, once when I was a kid I was playing with some friends, I would have been around three years or so, there was no one around there, you understand me! No fathers or mothers, they were with their things, well, the older things, you know, we were entertained in the field. Well, that’s what we always did, we had no other task than to play, that’s what we were kids for!
We were all there, I do not know how many we would be, I remember that at that age I still did not know how to count, but what I have not forgotten in all my life was how at one point we saw something that surprised us and we stopped to see it better. You know how curious children are, we get so close that some of us get to touch it. Well, the truth is that I didn´t, perhaps because of fear, or that I hadn’t gotten close enough to that. The luck was that I didn’t touch it.
— You said luck? But what are you talking about? What was that?
— Wait, impatient! Now I’m going to tell you, don’t interrupt me, otherwise I will forget what I was saying. It was so long ago and I still have it in mind as if it had only been a few minutes — he was saying to me with seriousness, and a recollection as if it was really happening to him in those moments.
— Well, go on, and sorry for interruption — I said softly.
— Look, the children who came first and touched it, because of that I am sure, I saw them how they did it, at the moment they disappeared.
— What? But what are you saying to me?
— Yes, don’t think it’s a joke. Do you see why it’s a topic that I should better leave inside me and not share with anyone?— And he stayed quiet.
He was silent for a long time and I did not want to interrupt him. I respected those moments that seemed to me that he needed, to overcome those memories, but when time passed and did not continue, I grew impatient and said:
— Go on, go on, I do believe you! But it was strange.
— No, I’m not surprised by your reaction, but you know that I’ve not been drinking for a long time. Well, as much as since I have been by your side. Today as you know, nothing more and nothing less than nine years.
— Well, what do you mean by that? — I asked Enrique. I didn’t understand what the time he had been with me had to do with what he was telling me.
— What do I mean? Well, if you didn’t know me so well and also knew that at one point in my life I liked drinking, sure it would have been natural for you to think I had drunk, right? — He was talking to me looking at me very closely. I think he looked at me like that to see my reaction when listening to him.
— Well, I don’t know, but it never occurred to me to think about it, be sure!
— Well, since this matter has been clarified, I haven’t taken a drop of alcohol, that’s how it is.
— Come on, you make me feel impatient, as they say in my hometown.
— And what does that mean? It is not unusual!
— Well, the truth is that I don’t know the meaning. It will be that if you take a little longer to tell me, I will burn, but well, what does it matter what I say? Go on with your story that is the most important one!
— Oh! Yes? So it is important? and what do you give me to continue? — he asked suddenly.
— What do I give you? Don’t be a joker and go on.
— Look, as I was saying, the children who had arrived first were not there, although it seems impossible they were nowhere to be seen — blowing a big sigh, she stayed silent again.
— Were there only children? — I asked him at that moment, to try to get him out of those thoughts that I imagined were painful.
— Well, no, there were few girls too. I remember that my little sister was also there with us, but as she was younger, it took her longer to get to the place, and when I saw her approaching, I caught her and another boy who was running next to her, and I didn’t I let them get closer, and even though they wanted, I pulled their arms with all my might and we even ended up with the three of us lying on the ground.
— But what was that? — I asked curiously.
— Yes, I would also like to know that. You won’t believe how many times I thought about it. Look when I was lying there with my little sister crying next to me, because she hurt herself when she fell because the other child fell on her, I heard a strange noise and I looked at that, and that, I can’t tell you what it was, it flew off quickly and disappeared into the clouds.
He was very quiet again, looking at the sky, as if wanting to find the answer that he had not yet found in spite of the time that had passed.
— Like this? No more! — I asked quietly. I didn’t want to interrupt his silence, but I was curious because I wanted him to keep telling me what happened next.
— Indeed, like this. In an instant it was all over, an instant of my life that I will never forget — was his reply, shrugging his shoulders at that moment.
