Wanna Take A Ride?

 

          It was just another night. Jim had a lot on his mind. None of it was making him feel any warm fuzzies. He felt like a virus was winning the battle in his respiratory system too. He had a little bit of a fever and he thought maybe his lunch, which he ate at midnight, wasn’t sitting very well. Memo’s was open all night selling fast and iffy Mexican food out of a side window. Well, they were open, so that was he had his late night lunch break. Two pork tamales, and rice. One apple flavored bottle of Mexican pop.
            In this small city there weren’t too many late night fares. Like every other night, Jim was thinking that there had to be a better way to make a living wage, and maybe not sleep away the daylight hours.
            Since he spent so much time alone in his newish Taurus, Jim had become a sky watcher. He wished that there were more clear nights. He had become interested in stars and planets. Even on clear nights there was a lot of light pollution from town.
            He tried to learn something new every night, so he had his laptop in the front seat with him. It kept him fairly content. He enjoyed space and science web sites the most, with some YouTube thrown in.
            There was one all-night coffee stand on 41^st, so he rolled over there and bought a 24 oz. 5 shot Americano to keep him company. The barrista was a middle aged lady who had the late shift too. He was a regular, and they chatted about nothing much for a couple of minutes while she prepared his drink. He always tipped her two bucks. Linda was her name.
            People who drive for a living, often have little bits of home in their vehicle. Jim did too. A Barbie, all beat up from years of service, in the glove box. Some shiny stickers his daughter had decorated the inside of his car with were still there, catching the light once in a while. Stars, again. She was a grown girl now, stars or no stars.
            Jim had a place he liked to park, while he hung out waiting for texts from dispatch. It was a little strip park on an elevated area where he could see out over the bay. He had been known to doze off a little parked there by himself in the early hours.
            But tonight was election night and he wasn’t sleepy. He was mighty antsy. He felt like the poem said, that the center wasn’t holding. Everything was up in the air.
            As Jim watched, out beyond the piers, where the water was deep, he began to see something which he had never seen out there before. There was a disturbance in the middle of the bay. He saw an area of yellowish light glowing under the surface. It started quite faint, but got brighter and more defined as whatever was lit by that glow rose up through the water. It broke the surface.
It had to be a vehicle of some sort. Resting on the water for a moment, it was dark, very dark, with just a ring of light on the outside of its apparent round shape. He couldn’t see for sure but it seemed to be flattened, and round. Then it rose silently into the air, maybe a hundred feet up over the water.
            Silently, it approached the park where Jim waited and watched, not knowing what to think.
Incredibly, it settled down on the grassy area in front of the parking strip, between the old trees that had been there for over a hundred years. The ring of light around the craft dimmed down to a dull orange glow. It was larger than he had initially thought, maybe a hundred feet in diameter. There was a slight odor to it, now that it was close. He had been smoking with his window open. It was like ozone and something additional.
            Just like in all the movies, a hatch opened above the lighted ring, and someone hopped out onto the grass. This person, for it was a person of sorts, slowly walked up to Jim’s Taurus. As the person approached Jim felt a sense of excitement and affection grow in his heart. He didn’t understand this at all, but he wasn’t afraid either. It was like a download of peace.
            Jim stepped out of his car, to meet the newcomer.
When the pilot got close, Jim could see that he was definitely humanoid, maybe five feet tall. He wasn’t clothed as far as Jim could tell, but he was covered in short blond hair or fur, about like a cat’s pelt. If anything, this character looked kawai as heck, cute. Jim’s daughter would have thought he was cute!

            He had yellow eyes, and he was smiling. When he opened his mouth and spoke, he spoke in English and he sounded like a beloved old voice from night time radio.
            “Wanna take a ride?” he said, using Art’s voice and inflection perfectly. He smiled at the effect this had on Jim, who was rather gobsmacked, having been a faithful listener to Coast to Coast back when it was good.
            “Look, you can call me Art if you like. My native name would be a tongue twister for you! I learned to speak your language from eavesdropping on Earth media.
            “We’re here because you called us here, in a way. Desires of the heart and so on. I’m offering you a one time opportunity. If you want, you can come with us. I know you love the stars, I can read it all over you, Jim.”
            The smaller figure looked at him more soberly then, just waiting while Jim considered the offer.
            Jim stood there, in the little park in a small American city. He looked out into the dark sky and as he looked, the stars seemed to call to him. They burned more brightly than he had seen before in this cloudy place. Thoughts of all he had known and loved passed through his mind.
            The call was very strong.
“You don’t need to bring a thing, Jim,” said little Art.

            In the morning the city impounded Jim's Taurus, unlocked, wide open, with all his belongings, including his phone, wallet and keys still inside it.
It was a total mystery.