18: Interception

This is a story being told in chapters, or episodes.  If you are knew to the blog, then feel free to start at the beginning of the story!  Episode 1, An Introduction.
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"Jess, I have a job for you."  Whispered Jess' Uncle into the phone.

"What?  I can't hear you,"  Jess felt for the volume button on her phone and clicked it twice, "why are you whispering over the phone?"

"Don't worry about it... just listen Jess!"  Cartwright's tone was urgent and slightly crazed.  "I have a job for you!"

"But I'm already watching Sora.  If I go anywhere, I'll most likely lose her."  Jess hated to take orders from her uncle, because he always made her do the work. 

"Listen Jess, it's important."  He paused.  "Every time there have been alien sightings, they have been seen in multiples."

"Uh huh?"  Jess knew where this was headed.  She began pacing back and forth in front of her living room window.

"I really doubt that Sora came here all by her lonesome."  Cartwright cleared his throat and dropped his voice.  "If we are going to prove that we have made contact with extraterrestrial beings, then we need more than one of them for proof."

"You want me to go and see if there are any others lingering in Carlsbad, right?"

"Yes!  I love how you seem to be able to read my mind!  Good girl!  Now, where did you say that you found Sora?"  Cartwright asked in his southern drawl. 

Jess slumped down on the couch by the front window.  She sighed and said, "I found her at the Carlsbad Caverns.  She seemed to be on a tour there.... but to tell you the truth, she seemed like she had been sleeping in the caverns.  She had a bed roll and a backpack....."

"Good!"  Cartwright seemed to forget that he was trying to speak quietly.  "Now get down to Carlsbad and look for someone that looks like Sora.  I don't care if it takes you weeks, or even months!  There has to be another one!"

"Fine!"  Jess said, "but I'm sending you all of my receipts so you can reimburse me...gas included!"  And she hung up the phone.

Jess looked across the common area of her apartment complex one more time toward Justin's front door.  She sighed, then pulled herself off of the couch to get ready to head south to Carlsbad.

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Witold walked along a black path wondering where he was, and how he was going to find Sora.  So far, his experience had not been very positive.  The humans were an odd sort of species.  He shook his head as he remembered what had happened in the cave.

Witold came out of the black tunnel and found himself in a large cave.  There was a walkway with railings going around the big room of the cave.  He was leaning next to one of the stalagmites when a human came rushing toward him looking extremely upset.


The human started yelling at Witold about how he would stunt the growth of the stalagmite by touching it with his bare skin.  Witold was so fascinated with the appearance of the human that he tuned the lecture out.  


This human had on a pair of tan colored pants... only the pants were short, leaving the bottom half of his legs bare.  He had a matching shirt, and a hat made of the same material.  On the bottom half of the human's legs was so much hair!  Witold nearly laughed at how odd it looked.  The human's skin was dull in comparison to what he was used to with the Kiswan, and as other humans gathered to watch the show, Witold noticed how many different colors of skin there was... and how short most of the humans were!  


Witold must have had a smirk on his face, because the (apparently male) human said, "You think this is funny do you?  Do you realize, that particular stalagmite will not get any bigger because you touched it?"


Witold brought his attention back to the situation.  He stood up, and looked at the stalagmite with a slight frown.  "Oh, no.  I'm sorry, I didn't realize..."


"Oh, you didn't realize eh?  Every tour group is instructed not to touch any of the formations!"  The human was beginning to gain confidence in himself.  "Do you think you are above the rules?  You can do whatever it is you want?"


Witold clambered over the railing.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't know... no one told me not to touch anything.  I just came through that opening."  Witold pointed to a smaller cave behind him.


"What?"  The human looked behind Witold.  "There isn't an opening back there.  Let me see your receipt."


"Receipt?"  Witold must have seemed crazy to the humans.  "What is a receipt?"


The human grabbed Witold by the arm and said, "Come with me.  We'll get this sorted out!" and he escorted Witold up the path and into a tiny room that moved upward, toward the top of the cave.  It was almost like that little room was flying.

The black path that Witold continued to follow wound down and around a mountain.  The land was an odd beauty.  It was dry, with interesting plants... some with poky spines on them (he found that out the hard way).

He pulled out his stone and noticed that it had a somewhat brighter glow!  His heart thumped in excitement!  That meant he was headed in the right direction!

As he was nearing the bottom of the mountain, a small blue contraption, that Witold had learned was called a 'car,' zoomed past him, heading up the mountain.  It skidded to a halt and whipped around, stopping next to him.

A tiny human got out of the 'car' and studied him for a few minutes.  She had white hair, and was very pale.  She was about the size of a very young Kiswan, maybe comparable to an eight year old.

The obvious female human approached and asked, "Are you Sora's friend?"


Witold couldn't believe it!  How easy!  "Yes!  Sora is to be my partner when we return to the Kiswone Nation!  You know her?"


"Your partner eh?"  The human seemed to be enjoying some private amusement.  "Well, she doesn't seem to know that.. especially how she has buddied up to Justin."


"Justin?"  Witold scrunched his eyebrows, "who is...?"


The human interrupted, "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, "I'm Jess.  I'm Sora's friend.  She has been staying at my place.  She wanted me to come and get you.  She is busy meeting with.... the... uh...leader of our nation.  What's your name?"

"I am Witold."  Something didn't completely seem right with this human, Jess, but he was not in a position to be picky about his help.  "But how did Sora know that I was coming?  She should not even know that I know where she is."

Jess seemed uncomfortable, like a baby Kiswan being handed to someone it doesn't know.  "Oh, she knows..."

Jess motioned toward the car.  "Well, shall we?  We have an hour and a half drive ahead of us, I'd really like to get back to Roswell."

Roswell? Witold had no idea where or what this Roswell was.  He hesitated momentarily as he eyed the car, then Jess, then the road.  "You will take me to Sora?"

"Yes, yes!  Get in."  Jess opened her door and got in.  She waved for him to go around, looking slightly annoyed.

Witold walked around the car, opened the door, and got in.  He had to cram his long legs in to shut the door, and off they sped.

Curtis Family Theme

Some years ago (I say that like I am old-ha!), we were able to get to know a family that we learned so much from.  When I say we, I mean myself, Hoss, and the girls.  This family had a family theme, or motto.  When they shared it with me, I just remember feeling so inspired.  It was such a good idea, and a great way to instill good behavior and morals in children at a young age.

After that, I spent a day or two coming up with our own family theme.  I came up with so many thoughts and principles that I wanted to put in it.  However, it would be a few pages long if I had.  So, I went through and picked seven of the ideas that I felt were most important for our family.

Like our good friends, we began saying the theme together every morning after our family prayer and scripture study.  It didn't take long for a 4 year old Big T, and a 2(ish) year old Little H to begin memorizing it.  We have been saying it together as a family ever since.  And now we are excited to begin teaching it to Baby K.

The Curtis Family Theme States:

We treat each other how Jesus Christ would treat us.
We teach each other.
We know that we are children of God.
We pray together.
We follow the prophet.
We study the scriptures together.
We will leave no one behind.

I made a scrapbooked plaque to hang on the wall of our theme

Along with other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our family watched General Conference over the weekend.  As we were listening to the many inspirational talks, I began thinking about our family theme.  I felt like we needed to apply, and enforce those principles in our home a bit more.

To do this, I had the idea that we need to focus on each one of these principles, one at a time, for an extended period of time.  Starting today, we are focusing on the very first principle to "...treat each other how Jesus Christ would treat us."  We will focus on this one principle of our family theme for one week.  Then for Family Home Evening, we will discuss our experience and talk about how we can do better.  

Now, this exercise is not just with each other, but with every person we come in contact with.  I personally have issues with road rage.  So, I can work on not calling people names as I am driving, and probably speeding at the same time!

Next week we will focus on the second principle, and so on and so forth.  Our little program will last nearly 2 months.  Join us if you would like!  I would also love to learn about your own experiences with this plan, or with other similar plans!

I will touch base with yall at the beginning of next week!

Lastly, do you have a family theme or motto?  How has it helped you?

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Update!  I finally published a new episode to Sora's Journey!  Come on over to the NEW URL for the blog, and read it!

Feel free to follow this blog, and Sora's Journey, and pass them along to your friends!

Arizona or Bust!

A week and a half ago, I took a little trip to Arizona to visit my sister and grandparents.  I took the kids (yes, all three) and drove all by myself (Hoss had to work).  I felt it was an impressive feat with a near newborn.  Baby K is now just over 7 weeks old.  The typical 8 hour trip took me 13 in one day.  It was a stressful trip, since I just wanted to get there.

We spent the week staying at my sister's house with her family.  We went to Ikea, the zoo, and we just spent a lot of time together.

I was hoping to visit my mother's parents, but was unable to do so, since they cannot have little children and possibly sick people in their home.  Here's to after my grandmother's chemo treatments!  **Sure love you grandma!**

I did get to visit my dad's mother.  We had pizza and visited for the afternoon.  The girls got to play with her dog Tike, and Baby K was caught smiling generously.

The weather was in the mid to high 70's, which I was slightly disappointed about.  I was hoping to take the girls swimming.  Oh well.  Soon enough!

On the way home, I decided to stop half way.  I chose a tiny town called Lordsburg, NM.  I do not recommend staying here, as it is so small that the grocery store closes at 7:30 pm every day!  There were two main restaurants to choose from.  One was McDonalds (which was a NO), and the other was a sit down family restaurant called Kranberries.  I tell you, this place is sooo over priced!  I payed $10 for practically a microwave dinner that was supposed to be grilled chicken and freshly steamed veggies.  I was highly disappointed!  The only thing that was well worth the money was their ginormous cinnamon rolls... yum!

I was glad to get home, as one usually is after being away from his or her own home and bed.

Us with Grandma M.

All in all, my little trip was just what I needed.  I felt like getting away really boosted my desire to get my house in order, and to keep a more structured day.  My sister is amazing at timing her daily schedule.  She has a very busy schedule, so she has to be super structured, and believe me, she has it timed to practically the minute.  I am on the lax end of the same habit.  I tend to go with it, which leads to me not getting much done.  However, I have taken up a new resolve to become more structured.  After all, I start a new class tomorrow, so I have to be organized in order to get my homework, housework, and church work done!  Whew!  Here we go!

Big T and Little H with Tyke.

I was lucky.  Immediately after I took this picture, my camera died.  It is one of my favorites.

I love elephants.

My sister took this one.  beautiful!

Koala Bear!  So cute!

My Niece, Little H, and Big T.

Rhinos look so nice and docile.

Good 'artistic' shots from me are rare, so I have to showcase them when they happen. :)

I love these mountains in Phoenix.  As a kid, they reminded me of potatoes.

My sister, Kendra, offered to take some pictures of Baby K.  She is so much better at photography than I am, so I was all for it... here are a few!


To visit my sister's blog.




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UPDATE!  I finally published a new episode to Sora's Journey!  Click on over there and read it on its NEW URL!

17: Disturbance in the Force

Witold had never been this deep into the jungle before a few days ago.  It was semi-dark due to all of the trees towering up over his head.  The jungle was the one place where he truly felt small.  The green trees were covered in orange and green mosses, and the floor was littered with moist undergrowth.  The jungle sounds were both soothing and alarming.  He loved the sound of nature and the birds, but it startled him when he was so alone.

He was making his way toward the swimming hole, that Sora had used to learn to swim, for the last time before his escape into the human realm.  Agatha had been teaching Witold how to swim.  The water was so refreshing, and after he realized that he could float, Witold began to enjoy and embrace the water.  He now understood the mechanics of swimming, but his knowledge would have to due, since he was set to leave that very night.  He would have to swim up under the heavy waterfall and take the same path that Sora took through the cave.

It was midday.  Witold pulled the stone out of his pocket to look at it once more.  It did not have a hint of a glow.  Who knows how far away Sora is by now.  She has been gone for nearly three weeks.  She could be anywhere at this point.  He placed the stone back in his pocket as he arrived at the swimming hole.  He slipped off his shirt and shoes, and waded out into the cool clear water.  Little fish darted around Witold's legs as he eased himself into the water.  The swimming hole was not large, so the bottom of the body of water began to slope down quickly.  Today's swimming practice would consist of holding his breath.  Witold had swam out close to the waterfall, and he could feel the current push down around him.  He knew that it would not be easy to swim under that without being in the water for an extended period of time.

Looking across the water to the waterfall, Witold set his determination, took in an enormous breath, and dove under.

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Sora awoke with a start.  She had trouble sleeping that night.  She sat up and listened into the darkness of Justin's bedroom.  His soft snores could be heard from the living room couch down the hall.  Sora got up and walked into the little bathroom to relieve herself.  She felt wide awake.  It couldn't have been much past midnight.  But the stirring she felt was part internal.  It almost felt like someone was watching her, which seemed silly.  It had to be the feeling of waking for no reason in the middle of the night.  Unsettling.

She walked back across the soft creme colored carpet and peered out the window.  The window looked out the front of the apartment.  Sora jumped.  She could see the blinds from Jess's apartment wide open.  She could have been mistaken, but Sora was sure that she saw Jess duck away from the window as soon as Sora looked out.

Something was very off about that human.  Sora didn't need Justin telling her that now.  No matter where she and Justin went, one of them caught a glimpse of Jess.  Unsure of how the humans do things, Sora gave Jess the benefit of the doubt, but when Justin went out without Sora, he instructed her to stay in the apartment and not to let anyone in.  She didn't have any issues following those directions.  She realized that humans could be very bazaar.

Sora left the window, walked to the bedroom door and quietly opened it.  Walking down the hall, she tip-toed past Justin and entered the kitchen.  She got herself a glass of water and sat down at the kitchen table.

There was something else that woke her, and now she was wide awake anticipating what it was... almost like it would knock on the door at any second.  Jess may be watching her and Justin, but that was not what woke her.  After all, little Jess was harmless really.

Justin must have heard Sora getting a drink in the kitchen because he came shuffling in looking bleary eyed.  The dim light above the stove was on, and it was casting its glow across the kitchen.  Justin sat down shirtless across from Sora.  She hadn't decided how she felt about Justin yet.  He was definitely easy to get along with.  He was obviously attractive.  She tried to keep her mind solely on the quest, but on occasions her mind would wander to Justin.  It was moments like these that she would freely take in his appearance.  She would think about how kind he had been to her.

"What are you doing up?" Justin interrupted her thoughts.

Sora's face grew hot with embarrassment over her lingering thoughts.  "I don't know.  I just woke up, and well, I don't feel like I can go back to sleep."

Justin locked eyes on Sora.  Her embarrassment not gone; her heart fluttered.  "Huh.  I woke up a while ago, and have only been able to doze off."

"I looked out the blinds of your bedroom, and I am positive that I saw Jess watching the apartment."

"Yeah, I saw her too."  Justin began rubbing his eyes.  "I don't have a good feeling about it.  She is getting weird.  It is almost like she has become obsessed with watching us."

"It must be why I can't go back to sleep."  Sora stood to refill her glass of water.  "I can't think of any other reason.  My senses must be on alert."

Justin stood as well and walked to where Sora stood peering out the back kitchen window.  "Hey."  He grabbed Sora's shoulders, making Sora look in his eyes.  "We'll get out of here tomorrow.  I've taken care of everything that I need to.  Soon, Jess will be just a funny story to tell."

In that moment, Sora realized her vulnerability.  She stood there looking at Justin and how willing he was to take care of her.  A small smile spread across her face.  She was grateful for his help.  She'd be lost or who knows what else without his help.

Sora looked at the clock.  "Well, it is only two in the morning.  I'm going to try and sleep."

Justin, broke his contact with Sora, hesitated, and said, "Yeah, me too.  See you in the am."

"G'nite."  Sora called down the hall as she entered the bedroom and closed the door.