Earth Mother

Humans are kind. Every single one I have met thus far has shown me some sign of friendliness. Whether it be the gentle bald man who walked me to registration, or the cheerful welcome lady who gave me my key, or the older fellas who looked like professors and smiled warmly at me. The people here share their joys with one another. The first few moments in my dorm were quite the opposite of lonely. As I turned the key to reveal my new home, a young woman vibrating childlike enthusiasm came barging out of her room in a fit of giggles. Her cheeks squished against her squinted eyes in a bright smile, and when she finally caught her breath she looked up at me and beamed.

“ Are you my new neighbor?” She eagerly asked.

“I am!” I replied

She took a long, exaggerated inhale, “ Are you a hugger? Can I hug you?”

I dropped my bag and opened my arms in response. She squealed and flew into them. We embraced for a long time. She was shorter than me, so her head fit perfectly on my chest. My heart felt warm. My first hug on Earth. Oh goodness, I may cry. When she pulled away her energy had calmed a bit and she remarked, “ You, ma’am, are a wonderful hugger. Anyone ever tell you that?”

I reflected for a moment, “ No, actually. We don’t really hug much where I come from.”

“Well I’m so glad I said it then.” She looked up at me with big, bright eyes, “Where are you coming from?”

“Idaho”, I lied.

“Oh cool! You know, when I tell people I go to school in Iowa they always mistake it for Idaho. Nobody really thinks of Iowa as a place you move to, but more like a place to fly over.”

“Why’s that?” I inquire.

“Well, besides this meditation, hippie university there’s not too much to do in this state besides farming corn.” She sighed, “ But we manage. It’s honestly so much fun here. People don’t believe me when I tell them, but this place attracts the coolest people from all over the world… and beyond.”

My heart nearly leapt out of my chest. I took a shallow, shaky breath. Had I been found out already? How?! I just met her. I’ve been on this planet for like forty minutes.

“What do you mean by that?” I ask, trying to hide the fear in my voice.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to startle you. This may sound kinda weird, but my friends and I have a group where we meet up every week and do something called a CE5 Meditation. It stands for Close Encounters of the 5th Kind. Basically, we meditate to make peaceful contact with aliens.”

My jaw literally dropped. “ You meditate to contact aliens, regularly?”

“Yup”

“Does it work?”

“Yeah! We’ve had tons of wild experiences in our meditations and afterwards we’ve had several ships appear. One even hovered above us with a light so bright that none of us could see until it was over. Crazy stuff really. But it’s super fun, the group is amazing and the aliens are playful.”

“Wow.” I certainly did not expect to be having a conversation about aliens within an hour of being on the planet. And I definitely didn’t anticipate that humans were meditating to contact us, and apparently some of us catch their signal and come down to… play? Why didn’t anyone tell me this?

“You can come if you’d like.” She said quietly.

My attention snapped back to her. My mouth opened in a soft ‘o’ and I pondered my options. If I go, will they somehow figure out who I am? Seems quite unlikely so... “I would love to.”

Her eyes light up again, “ Oh yay, cool! It’s at 8 tonight so we have a couple hours. I can give you a ride if you’d like.”

“I would appreciate that.” I replied.

“Neat! Alright, well I’m gonna head off to dinner. I can knock on your door when we’re about to head out.”

“Perfect.”

“Cool, see ya later!” She turned to trot down the hall, then paused. Looking back at me with her curly brown hair framing her face, and said, “I never introduced myself. I’m Genesis”

“I’m Maia”

“Nice to meet you, Maia.” She said, then disappeared down the hall.

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and opened the door to my room. It was quite spacious. I was used to smaller quarters back on the ship. I closed the door, set down my bag and plopped down on the bed. I couldn’t say it was the most comfortable, but laying down felt nice. I stared up at the ceiling tiles and felt a grin make its way to my face. I’m on earth.

My heart tingled. “I’m home” I whispered to myself.

I’m home. Those two simple words made everything worth it: the years of training, the genetic manipulation that brought about my birth, and the fact that I hadn’t touched an actual planet since I was nine. But now, all of that has led to this. I recall the feeling of warm grass beneath my feet for the first time. When they dropped me off here the sun was shining brightly and white fluffy clouds adorned the sky and a smell that a man later told me was that of Spring brought me to tears. I cry a lot for my kind.

You see, I’m a hybrid. I’m mostly human, with DNA intertwined with those from the Zeta faction and a race from the Pleidian star system. I was raised by my Pleidian family before being taken for training with the Zeta’s. For the past several hundred years, the Zeta’s - commonly known to humans as the Greys - have been creating hybrid children with the genetic coding of humans, themselves, and often another race. The goal: Galactic peace… and for the Zeta’s to save their species. Slowly, the ability to reproduce, which they lost the privilege to after blowing up their planet, is returning to them through this program. Most of those that survived wanted to be better citizens of this universe. Some may say abducting another species to reproduce without their consent wouldn’t constitute as better, but those who raised me would say that better is a relative term.

The Zeta’s mental capacity is incredibly expansive. They are brilliant when it comes to genetics, mathematics, astrophysics and all things science. However, to put it simply, they are emotionally senseless. They just really don’t understand love, joy, fear, sorrow, excitement, or any of the emotions in between, but they’re trying to. They are learning, I’ll give them that. I mean, they do care enough about humanity to formulate this entire plan to keep them from self-destructing.

Lucky for me, I’m a part of this plan. We were specifically created to help elevate the collective consciousness of the planet by our mere presence, simply because of the frequency at which our molecules vibrate and the affect we have on our surroundings. This planet is at a critical turning point in history where the decision to operate from violence or peace will have long lasting consequences. Humanity has been on the path of violence for so long that the Galactic Federation felt our existence was necessary. We are here now to ensure that multiversal peace prevails.

Speaking of the federation, I should probably update them. I grab my backpack containing all of my belongings presently. It consisted of some clothing, government identification, courtesy of the agents already here on earth, a debit card with $20,000 for living expenses, and a little black notebook that instantly sends everything I write in it back to the mothership. I’m supposed to write to them at least once daily with relevant information I’ve gathered and progress made. I reach for the journal and begin jotting down my experience thus far.

An hour passed by, filled with unpacking, investigating my new space, and gazing out the window. I spent quite some time studying my reflection in the mirror. I wonder if the humans know it’s not actually them who looks back? The faint sound of footsteps and a now easily distinguishable laugh filled the hallway outside. The corner of my mouth turned to a smile as I heard a swift knocking on my door.

I opened it and was met with the presence of Genesis and two other ladies. They all grinned at me. “Maia, these are my friends Stefani and Isabel! They’ll be coming with us tonight.”

“Hi, nice to meet you.” I replied, unsure if we should shake hands or hug or not touch at all.

Stefani held out her arms a bit and said “May I?”

I nodded and we embraced for a moment. Another excellent hugger. When we pulled away Isabel stepped forward and gave me a gentle squeeze. Gosh, I love humans. They’re so touchy. “ Yay! New friends.” Genesis said, turning down the hall. “Let’s go!”

We all piled into her car and began the journey to our destination. Looking out the window of the car reminded me of flying in the ship, just with more music and lively energy. By the time we got there, Genesis was out of breath because she had just rapped a song for three minutes straight, and Stefani was lost in laughter.

The house we arrived at teemed with life. The windows gave us a straight view inside, which was filled with color changing lights, a massive portrait of someone’s head, and psychedelic tapestries. We stepped outside into the cool air and made our way to their porch. A little black cat ran over to greet us. She rubbed against my leg and rumbled with a soft purr. I reached down to pet her and her purring grew louder. What a lovely creature.

Once she finished her hellos, she escorted us to the house. Genesis opened the door and the kitty hopped inside. Before entering, I felt called to look up. The sun had dipped below the horizon and a hue of pinks, purples and blues painted the sky. A full moon, bright and illuminated, rose proudly. I marveled at the sight, then let out a soft laugh as a spacecraft briefly materialized next to it, flashing a light in my direction and vanishing soon after.

I made my way inside, still beaming from the encounter, and was met with a flurry of activity. The people I had entered with were removing their shoes and hugging those in the kitchen. I followed suit. A tall man with a huge aura and booming voice approached me with open arms. I practically melted into them. This guy's heart felt like ecstasy. When we pulled away he introduced himself “I’m Devonte.”

The next several minutes consisted of more hugs than I have ever experienced in my entire life. They were all lovely. I had already met one of the hosts, Justin, when I first arrived on campus. Apparently this is his and his partners home. It’s beautiful. Vibrant art fills the space, large crystals seemingly grid the entirety of their home, and the people who fill it emanate light. Once we finish our greetings, we begin making our way to their living room, where the meditation will occur. I take a seat against the wall on a cushy meditation pillow and admire the space.

My attention shifts to the stairwell with the sound of descending footsteps. My breath catches as their creator emerges. My eyes trace the DNA helix tattoo spiraling up her arm, emerging into some sort of fairy goddess. The Hawaiian islands rest on her collarbone, with the word “airhoss” in cursive above them… wait. I know that name. Our eyes met and reality froze.

“Maia?” She whispered, barely audible.

“Mom!”