Earthlings Anonymous

Will anyone believe Amelia's alien abduction story? She's found a welcoming group that just might. (originally posted on my Wattpad account)

"My name is Amelia, and I'm an abductee."

The words left my lips in a nervous stutter, but were greeted with raucous applause from the group. My ex was a five year sober AA member, so I had an idea of how this all worked. Sort of.

"Greetings, Amelia," Rich, the group leader, said with a welcoming gleam in his eyes. "We're so glad to have you here."

"I've never admitted this to anyone," I said. "I was afraid... you know. Little green men. Flying saucers. It's all so..."

"There's no judgment here. Only love," Rich assured me. "Go on."

"Okay," I said. "It was a couple years ago. Me and my boyfriend, Marcus, had another one of our fights. They were practically non-stop our last few months together. I can't remember what a single one was even about. I spent three years with that man, and I guess none of it mattered."

"None of our human interactions do," Bertha said. Her flabs of bare stomach protruding beneath her hole-riddled, stained covered shirt along with her unwashed medusan hair led me to surmise her human interactions were probably pretty limited. She seemed to have found a welcome home here, though.

"I hate confrontation," I continued. "So I drove out to the forest preserve near our apartment and just started walking. I don't know how late it was, but this certainly wasn't unusual. After some of our fights, I'd walk until daybreak, lost in my own thoughts."

I took a second just to breathe. The group patiently waited for me to continue.

"It was cold and misty. Typical Seattle November night, but nothing about it was typical. Everything around me shone bright blue. The hazy, soft rain sang as it danced around my body. I was putting one foot in front of the other, but I wasn't walking. I was being led, if that makes any sense."

The group nodded. Daniel put his hand on his heart to show solidarity and encouragement.

"Crazy thing was that it all seemed perfectly natural. This was where I was supposed to be. I wasn't surprised at all when the trees uprooted from the ground and slowly floated up towards the sky. Their leafless branches stuck out, making them look like giant snowflakes drifting upwards. Their absence left a small open clearing in the middle of the woods."

I gazed down at the group, expecting eyerolls and snide laughter, but saw rapt attention instead. They hung on every word as though I was preaching the Gospel.

"There was this patch of grass surrounded by pathways for me to walk. Then I saw it. I know how cliche this sounds, but a flying saucer touched down from the sky into the clearing. It was really small, though. Just the size of a frying pan. And it was made of light, not metal. Every kind of light you can imagine. Blue, red, ultraviolet, glem and kavota. Colors I never knew existed, but that will live forever in my soul."

I smiled, "I never saw the beings inside, but I didn't need to. They spoke to me in pictures and emotion and wonder. They told me everything I needed to know. Then, just like that, they were gone. But they're never really gone. They're always with me. Always."

Had someone told me all this, I would have thought they were crazy. It was amazing to find people that could relate to everything I said.

"That evening, I told Marcus we were through. I left him and all my possessions behind. I quit my job and followed my dream of becoming a filmmaker. Money's been tight, but I never worry. They're always guiding me. I'm an abductee and my life will never be the same. Thank you."

I was still expecting jeers, but instead everyone - even Roger who needed a cane- stood up and cheered. They all held their hands up shaking their fingers back and forth to symbolize raining down positive energy.

Most of the others then got up to speak. Their encounters were different from mine, yet strangely similar. Dorothy actually saw tiny gray men with oversized heads and giant eyes. Rich went on pilgrimages to Roswell. Bertha bore alien children who still visit her from Alpha Centauri. Kyle claimed to have been probed, but felt honored rather than violated. In fact, there wasn't a single person who hadn't felt enlightened and blessed by their extraterrestrial experiences.

The clock clicked nine, ending the meeting way too soon. We all said our goodbyes and Rich walked me to my car.

"I hope you come again, Amelia," he said. "You added so much to the group."

"Thank you for making me feel so welcome," I said. He held out his arms, inviting a hug. His bear embrace seemed to last forever. Maybe it was just a simple good-bye, but I felt it might have meant something more.

I sat in my car, mentally replaying my feelings long after he drove away. My phone was the only light in the still darkness. Recording the meetings was strictly forbidden, but I had been able to do so without anyone noticing.

Finally, I forwarded the recording to Marcus with a message. "What a bunch of freaks! They completely believed my ridiculous story. Can't wait to post this circus show on our channel. Should be our best episode yet."

I laughed as I started the car and squealed away. So many pathetic people. So little time.