The Neighbor

His name was Amos. He was always a strange man. Retired from a local tire shop, he was a loner.One of those “Get off my lawn!” types. He was a curious and sad soul and that is the best I could describe him. He always wore a long sleeve shirt, even on the hot Alabama summer days. He usually wore a baseball cap, which covered up curly hair and a bad haircut, that I am sure he cut himself. He seemed content with living by himself. His only companion was his dog, CC. I have no clue what those initials stood for, but I am sure that they symbolize a significant and sentimental token of his curious life.

I would speak to him as he walked to get his mail. Those moments were rare though, because he was a quiet old coot that I felt was threatened by me. He rarely had visitors to his modest brick home, but when he did, it made his day for sure. You could hear his voice echoing across the neighborhood with a high pitch. It was very feminine-sounding. The UPS guy actually called him Ma’am.

He was getting on up in years, probably about 85 or so, and didn’t leave the house too often. I was shocked that he was still allowed to drive, which he would do occasionally, to shop for groceries I am sure.

He annoyed me, I will say that. You could feel his eyes on you when you walked across the yard. Sometimes, out of the corner of my eye, I could see him peeking out from behind a hedge. I tried not to look most times, but if I did, he the would glare at me. His pale face looked confused and resembled a statue in some forgotten park, that pigeons were waiting to bombard.

I didn’t hate Amos or anything, but his actions towards me made me want to avoid him at all costs. I could hear him complaining and cussing about a limb that had fallen from my tree into his yard. Sometimes he would threaten to shoot my dog, Pip, who would sometimes find his way on Amos’ porch. “I don’t have money to feed 2 dogs. You get on outta here!” He would scream. “I’ll get my gun and thata teach ya!” He had a smirk on his face that I couldn’t stand to look at.

His joy on most days would be to walk his 5 acres of land in admiration and dared anyone to trespass as if there were something valuable that he had hidden on the premises. As the sun went down, he would make his way inside his home, where he would stay for the rest of the night, although he did appear in the shadows of the yard in the midnight hour on a few occasions.

That is how I remember Amos. A figure of my past, that maybe I took for granted as a neighbor. The fact that he existed, that he took up space, that he was a character with flaws that somehow coincided with my experiences in this life, it made me content and accepting of anything that he contributed to my world.

These moments I am humbled and I hope you take in the story of this intriguing codger. In his own right, he deserved to be seen and heard, even by me. I should have been more patient I suppose. There was definitely something from his past that affected everything that he was. I just didn’t take time with finding out the reasons.

Then that fateful night appeared from the pages of some novel that only a crazed author could conjure, if only it weren’t true. I watched Amos come out of his house as I took an evening stroll. He had a shiny box in his hands with a long rod attached to it. He placed the object into the ground in the middle of his front yard. He went back inside his house with an extension cord and plugged it in this contraption. A surge of electricity caused an explosion of light to emit from the grating of the bottom of the rod on a flat metal surface. This went on for about 30 minutes or so, and then he shut it all down and took it inside. Soon, everything was dark at Amos’ dwelling.

The next morning, I woke up and went to my neighbor’s house across the street. Mack came to the door and the first thing he said was “You saw it too.”

“Yeah! And it just makes me believe that this guy has lost it. Completely!” I said. “What do you think he was doing?”

“Transmitting….signals. Trying to communicate with Extra Terrestrials.”

I laughed. “Yeah. Ok. You’ve been watching too many movies.”

“Whatever. Don’t believe me. Just remember what I told ya.” Mack shook his head as I walked away, gazing across the street to Amos’ yard. He was getting the mail and stared at me without saying anything. I didn’t tell Mack, but I actually believed him. I have seen those communication devices before . I just didn’t want to admit that it was real.

That night it all happened again. Amos came out with the device and turned it on. Bright flashes filled the night as he looked on at the machine that whirred and buzzed. Then he smiled and pulled out a small black box from his pants pocket. It was flashing green. He watched it as the green light faded and became dark. Then he shut the device down and went inside.

I can say that I did not sleep well that night. Again, I headed over to Mack’s house the next morning and when he came to the door I said.”Yep. He’s trying to communicate with aliens.”

“Glad to have you onboard.”Mack smiled. “Did you know he works for the CIA. Has been for years.”

“I thought he was retired from working at the tire shop.”

“It was a cover. He’s worked on finding out about the alien castaway that was stranded here years ago. You know, Project B-x?”

“Yeah. I watched a documentary on that!” I said. “They found the ship but never could find the alien. I guess Amos is searching for him and communicating with the mothership to inform them his findings?”

“That’s right. But here’s something for you to think about. What if Amos is that alien that they’re looking for?”

“That has crossed my mind,”

“Meet me at your place at 9pm tonight. We’re gonna solve this mystery.” Mack had excitement in his eyes.”

I agreed and walked across the street thinking about all that could happen. I saw Amos sitting on his porch petting CC. I thought about what the conversation I had with Mack. It was all so exciting, but I had some fear within me. The unknown has always been troubling to me.

At 9pm Mack met me just as he said he would. And right on cue, Amos came out of his house with the communication device. He turned it on and the lights flashed like normal. The sounds were even louder this time and Amos smiled like never before. “Here we go!” He screamed in excitement.The flashes got brighter and he looked across the yard at Mack and me, now exposed by the illumination.

“Ah! Witnesses to a miraculous event! Enjoy!” Amos focused on us for a moment then went back to turning a dial on the front of the machine.

Suddenly, a blue beam broke through the clouds. A sound of a motor got louder as a round object appeared from above. A shiny UFO with dozens of yellow lights swirling around its circumference hovering above us.

“It’s happening. I can’t believe it’s happening.” Mack cried. “It’s him! I knew he was the castaway. The lost alien from B-x!”

But I remember the look on his face. The shock….and the look on Amos’ face, as the blue beam came down and shined on me.

“Yes. It is time.” I said. “Time to go home.”

I can still see the expression on Mack’s face as I was lifted into the ship. I will miss him…and even Amos. At least he tried.