Sky People (8 page)

“Suddenly, I was aware that the lights were no longer shining. I dropped my arm and came face to face with two creatures who walked out of the balls of light. I call them creatures because that is what they were. Even though they had two arms and two legs, they were not human. They were shorter than me. [Enrique was approximately 5’ 6”.] They had funny skin. It looked like the color of these ashes,” he said as he pointed to the ashtray on the table. “Somewhere between white and gray. Their heads were pointed at the chin. Their arms and legs were very skinny, making me think they were children, at least at first, but the truth is, they looked like insects. Nothing more than big bugs.” He stopped and ate more chips and called for another sangria. “Don’t worry, Doctor. You cannot get drunk on sangria in this hotel. Maybe if you drank a barrel. The bartender has orders to water everything down. It has little to no alcohol. I am fully aware of what I am telling you.”

“I don’t think you are drunk, Enrique. I’m concerned that this conversation may be difficult for you.”

“No, no. I want to tell this story, although, unlike you, most of my friends laugh at me. They tell me I fell asleep along the highway and that I made up this story so I wouldn’t get in trouble with the boss. That is not true, but the image of these creatures
is forever in my brain. I think that if I had met them in the jungle, I would have thought they were some kind of a bug and probably killed them. Chopped their head off with a machete and probably carried them to the village. Maybe even ate them.” He laughed at his statement and looked around the bar to see if he had attracted attention.

“Were you late returning from your trip?”

“I didn’t make it back for the dinner crowd. The boss was angry. I tried to explain, but he told me that he would fire me if I told that story again. I have six children and a wife, Doctor. I could not take the chance. So I never told him the story again, nor did I talk about it with any of my friends at the hotel. But they heard the story in the village, and they teased me about it. They call me ‘the insect man’.”

“You said the creatures looked like insects. Can you tell me anything else about them?”

“They were wearing strange suits. They blended with the environment some way. If they stood in front of a bush, they looked like the bush. If they stood in the dirt, they looked like the dirt. Whatever was behind them, they blended. I knew they were aliens, and I ran for the van. That’s when the balls of light appeared, and the creatures disappeared. The UFO moved over me and stayed there, a few feet above me. There was a sickening smell and I think I lost consciousness.”

“What is the next thing you remember?”

“I was behind the wheel of the van. I had a terrible headache. I was sweating but I was cold. I tried to pray, but I could not find my voice.”

“What do you mean, you couldn’t find your voice?”

“My throat was sore. I couldn’t speak to pray to God. I opened the door to the van and tried to get out, but I was too weak to move. I sat there for a long time and when I finally managed to open the door, I got out of the van and collapsed to the ground. A passing car came by and slowed. They laughed. They thought I was drunk.”

“What did you do?”

“I sat on the ground until I was able to pull myself up and stand. I crawled back into the van, and I got out my cell phone and tried to call the boss. When he answered, I could not speak. I drove to the city, picked up the restaurant supplies, and drove back to the hotel. Along the way, my voice came back. When the boss saw me, he was angry. That is when I discovered that I had been gone most of the day. The trip should have taken me no more than six hours. I was gone more than twelve.”

“Do you have any memory of what happened to you during that time?”

“None. But I know what I saw, and I swear that I speak the truth.” He made the sign of the cross, paused, and lit a cigarette. “Do you believe me, Doctor?”

“Yes. I believe you.”

“Would you tell my wife you believe me?” he asked.

“I’m not sure I understand your request.”

“My wife thinks I’m crazy. She thinks I have a girlfriend and that I went to see her. She’s a jealous woman. She’s a simple woman from the village. She knows nothing of UFOs and aliens. But if you told her you believe me, she might think I’m not crazy.”

“I will be happy to explain to your wife that I have heard many stories about UFOs, and that yours is not that unusual. I will tell her I believe you.”

A broad grin crossed his face. “Thank you, Doctor. But I must warn you: My wife is a very jealous woman.”

The next day, I agreed to accompany Enrique to his village after the lunch crowd left. Buddy accompanied me to run interference in case Enrique’s wife misunderstood my visit. His home was a small cinderblock house with a tin roof not too far from the hotel. Bougainvillea flowers fell over the fence and were in bloom in coffee cans on the windowsills. His wife was sitting outside their home in a white plastic chair under the shade of a tree shelling black beans. She stood when we pulled up, brushed off her dress, and stared at the three of us. Four small boys wearing shorts that were too big for them appeared and hid behind her. The oldest broke loose and ran toward Enrique and threw
his arms around his legs. Buddy spoke to her in Mayan and she smiled. When I was introduced to her, she took my hand and welcomed me into her home. When I explained to her that I collected UFO stories, she smiled and asked me if I had heard Enrique’s story. When I told her I had heard his story and I believed him, a relief came over her face that seemed to allay all of her fears of infidelity. She reached out and hugged Enrique around his neck and kissed him on the cheek several times. She reached for me and shook both my hands and smiled, thanking me profusely. As Buddy and I left, we offered to give Enrique a ride back to the hotel, but he decided to stay home until his shift began two hours later.

I
have seen Enrique and his wife and children twice since our first meeting. He still has no recall of what happened to him during his six hours of lost time. During my visits, he and his wife have welcomed two more children. I am the godmother of the youngest, their only girl
.

T
he name Xunantunich comes from the Mayan word meaning “stone woman.” Local legend says that around the end of the 1800s, a young man from the village of San Jose Succotz went hunting. Approaching the ancient city of Xunantunich, he crossed the base of the Castillo. Beneath the base of the pyramid was a cavern and there, standing motionless, was a beautiful statuesque Maya woman, dressed in a long white dress. She had red, glowing eyes. According to the young hunter, she sparkled in the rays of the rising sun. Awestruck by her appearance, the young man threw his gun aside and ran to the village. After telling the people about the woman of stone, several villagers, including the local shaman, went to the site. Arriving at the large mound, they found the mouth of the cave, but the Stone Woman had disappeared. Thereafter locals claimed that the woman has appeared countless times
.

A recent account by a local shaman reported that the Stone Woman was seen ascending to a large silver disk that hung over the ancient site. Others claimed that they saw her climb the pyramid and disappear inside a wall. Stephens and Catherwood did not venture to Xunantunich, but I decided to make the trip before leaving for Copán and search for the shaman who saw the UFO
.

In this chapter, you will read about the shaman’s experience
.

Driving the Western Highway, Buddy and I headed to the village of San Jose Succotz. We located the shaman’s wife, who told us that her husband was at the ancient site Xunantunich.
We took a hand-cranked ferry over the Mopan River to the site. The ancient Maya archaeological site set eighty miles west of Belmopan in the Cayo District. The Guatemalan border was less than a mile away.

Xunantunich was an archaeological site that flourished during the Classic period and survived the Maya “collapse” to remain an important population center until around 1000
BCE.
Once at the site, it took only a few minutes before Buddy located the shaman, Albert Beto, who agreed to share his story with me. He explained that for several weeks, residents of San Jose Succotz had been seeing strange flying objects over the town. The villagers described the objects as circles that blocked the sun. Reportedly, there was a light radiating from underneath the craft, which pulsated from a bright yellow to a blinding blue light. There was no sound emanating from the craft. After several weeks, the sightings had set the community on edge and the people spent much of their time in church.

“Was it during this time that the Stone Woman appeared?” I asked.

“Yes. From the first time she was spotted, the elders talked about a strange flying machine that circled the sky.”

“But the first recorded sighting was in the late 1800s. Did those stories originate in the 1800s?” I asked.

“As long as I remember, the elders have said the Stone Woman comes from the sky. She is a Sky Woman or the Star Woman.”

“What can you tell me about the most recent event?” I asked.

“It was a Sunday morning,” Albert said. “People were headed for church when a craft came over the village at a very slow speed. It was low, so low that I could almost jump and touch it.”

“Was there any detail you noticed about the craft?” I asked.

“It was a dull gray. Round. I saw no windows, no wings.”

“Did you see the woman, the one called the Stone Woman of legend?” I asked.

“I saw a woman. She was magnificent. She glowed like a star. She was beautiful. I saw her descend from the craft on a beam of light. She stood at the entrance of the pyramid and walked
inside the cave. When she emerged, she climbed to the top of Castillo, a beam of light came down, and she entered the craft just as she emerged from it.”

“Were you the only witness?” I asked.

“There were several others, but some of them said she walked inside the pyramid and disappeared. I did not see that. But I avoided her eyes.”

“Why did you avoid her eyes?”

“She has red, glowing eyes. If you look into them, she has power over you and makes you see what she wants you to see. I didn’t look at her eyes and that’s when I saw her disappear on a beam of light, and the craft flew away in a blink of the eye.”

“What do you think about this event?” I asked.

“For years, there have been sightings. Before my time, my father and grandfather told stories of this beautiful glowing woman. They said she came from the stars, but over the years, people did not tell that part of the story. Some people believed she was a ghost. A few thought she was an angel. Others believed she was the Virgin Mary. I always believed what the elders told me. She was a woman from the stars and finally I know the truth. She was from the stars.”

“How do you explain that the majority of the sightings of the woman report that she was a stone woman?”

“Two things. I thinks she casts a spell on those who look into her eyes. Then I think perhaps she transfixes men with her beauty and they believe no mortal woman could be so beautiful.”

“Are you saying you do not believe the original story that she was a woman of stone?” I asked.

“I don’t believe so. I think the young hunter who first saw her was so dazzled by her beauty that he thought she was a woman of stone. The people from the stars have great powers. More than those of us on Earth. I believe she was a living, breathing star goddess who cast a spell on those who saw her and made them believe she was a stone woman until she was able to carry out her business on Earth.”

“What kind of business?”

“That’s a good question. I have never been able to learn the answer. I have gone into the cavern many times, but have never discovered anything extraordinary, and yet she returns to the same spot every time.”

“Can you describe to me the woman you saw?” I asked.

“She was taller than our women,” he said. “She had black hair that flowed down to the back of her waist. She wore a long white dress with embroidery. I was not close enough to recognize the designs of her embroidery. Her eyes glowed red. She showed no emotion. No anger, no smile, but she was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

“Is there a possibility she cast a spell on you?” I asked.

“Perhaps,” he replied, “but I don’t think so. I am convinced her eyes give her power. I avoid her eyes. That way I am not influenced by her. I can see things as they really are.”

After talking with Albert for another few minutes, it was evident that he had nothing to add to his original story. We said our goodbyes and decided to take some time to investigate the ancient site. As I looked upon the Castile, it was not hard to imagine the mysterious woman who came to this site and transfixed the villagers into believing she was a stone woman with the ability to walk through walls and appear on a beam of light. Xunantunich was a magical place, far removed from the modern world.

O
ne day, I plan to go back to Xunantunich to discover if the legend has been updated or if the Stone Woman has made a recent appearance. For now, it remains on my bucket list.

Whereas Catherwood and Stephens traveled overland to Copán Ruinas, Buddy drove me there. It took Stephens and Catherwood eleven days to reach their destination; it took us eleven hours with stops for gas, snacks, and
baño
(bathroom) breaks. It was a long, wending, treacherous, mountain journey from Belize City through San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to Copán Ruinas. Cars and trucks passed without paying attention to the double yellow lines, traffic, horses, chickens, dogs, bikes, or people on the side of the road. Horns blared, accompanied by loud voices of the cars’ and trucks’ occupants. Men in jeans and straw hats walked along the highway on their way to their small hillside gardens. Fruit stands dotted the highway at every wide spot along the road. Children ran to the road and attempted to stop traffic to sell small items or to beg. The people were poor, the poorest I had seen since beginning my journey. When Stephens made the trip he armed himself and his companions with multiple weapons as a defense
against bandits. Apparently, the situation had not changed, and I was warned that travel at night along this highway was a major risk. Bandits prowled the night, and murder was not uncommon.