12: Not So Completely Alone

Sora didn't know a lot about human behavior at this point.  She realized that the only humans that she had really interacted with at this point was Jess and her aunt and uncle.  She wondered if all humans were as odd as these three.

Mayor Cartwright spent an hour comparing Sora's map with another map, like the one hanging on the wall in the entrance hall.  Its rounded features enabled the viewer to see all of the land on the earth.  Sora was amazed with how much land was really missing due to the barriers.  Mayor Cartwright was eating up all of the information that Sora shared with him.  He was so fascinated by Sora's map that he took out a small object and began holding it up to the map pushing a button over and over.  Cartwright saw Sora looking at the device strangely and turned it around so that she could see it.  An image of her map was engraved on the front.

Cartwright was obviously pleased to show Sora more detailed what the device was.  "It is a cell phone, and it can take pictures... that is what I am doing with it."

"What is it for?"  Sora asked taking the device from him.

"We are able to communicate with other people with it.  It is a phone that can go everywhere!"  Cartwright took the cellphone away from Sora and proceeded to push some buttons on the front of the device.  He put it up to his ear, paused for a moment, then looking satisfied he handed it back to Sora.  "Put it to your ear."

Sora did as she was told and heard an odd buzzing sound.  She looked up at Cartwright and nodded encouragingly.  Finally, there was an end to the buzzing...

"Hello?"  A girl's voice answered.  Sora did not respond.  "Hello?  Uncle Bill?"

Cartwright took the phone from Sora and put it back to his ear.  "Jess, you can come in now.  I was just showing Sora how a cellphone works."

There was silence for a moment, then Cartwright said, "Okay, I'll tell her.  Okay, buh bye."

Cartwright pushed a button on his cellphone and placed it on his desk.

"Jess had to go back to her apartment for a little while.  She has class at the University in an hour.  She asked if you could hang out with me while she is there."  Cartwright seemed elated at this development.

"Oh, well, I would like to walk around for a while."  The last thing Sora wanted was to spend the day with this odd human.  "I could come back here in a short while, if that is alright."

Cartwright seemed slightly hurt, but beamed anyway and walked her out to the entrance hall.  He lead her over to his wife's desk and explained the plan.  She opened a bag sitting at her feet and produced a small green piece of paper.

"Please dear, I know that you don't have any money with you," Janice held out the green money with a kind smile on her face.  "You can get yourself something to eat and see some of the things that down town has to offer."

"Thank you, that is very kind."  Sora took the money, realizing it would hurt Janice's feelings if she did not.  "I will see you later then."

They waved her off and Sora walked out the doors.  Cartwright had given her some basic directions to get to an alien museum and to a few restaurants close by.  Apparently restaurants were places where humans went to eat different kinds of food.

Sora knew that she wouldn't be hungry for some time, so she decided to just walk for a while.  She wanted to find some quiet place to think, away from Roswell.  She turned onto Main Street and began walking toward the south.  The sun was beginning to warm up nicely.  She closed her eyes and pointed her face toward the sun.  The heat rays seemed to emanate right through her body, warming every inch.  Sora had always loved the sun, and the warmth that it brought.

Sora continued walking.  She walked across other streets that were controlled by green, red, and yellow lights.  The metal contraptions.... cars had to follow the lights.  Sora just walked, and those cars would stop if she was crossing the street.  Some of the humans didn't appear to be too pleased to stop for her.

Sora noticed all kinds of different humans.  There were scroungy looking humans, and very shiny polished humans.  Some had very dark skin, some had brown skin, and some had white skin.  She was amazed at how different many of them look!  As Sora was walking toward another stop light, she saw a male human walking toward her.  He didn't seem to even notice her, but he was talking to himself, as he walked.  He held a similar device like Cartwright had, but it was not up to his ear.  Sora did notice a shiny black bug of some kind sitting on top of his ear.  How bazaar!

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Sora had walked quite a ways.  She even passed where Jess's apartment was.  But she came to a street that was named McGaffey Street.  She decided to walk west on that road.  She still hadn't found a quiet place to sit and think about what she wanted to do next.

She walked for some time and finally came to a place where there was not as many buildings and houses.  She found some tall crops of corn growing and decided to find a nice shady spot to sit inside the field.  When she found a small clearing in the field, she sat down and nibbled on some of the dried fruits that were in her pack.  Sora felt finally alone and comfortable so she laid back and stared up at the clouds as they passed over her head.

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Sora had no idea how long she had been lying there in the corn field when she heard some footsteps making their way through the field.  They were obviously human foot steps; she could tell by the steady, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp.

Sora sat up quickly and gathered her things together.  Just as she was putting her map back into her pack when a tall human male walked into Sora's little clearing.  She had to look twice before she realized that this was Jess's neighbor Justin.

"What are you doing out here?"  He seemed a little bit shocked to run into someone else in the crops.

Sora looked a little sheepish, "I was just resting in the shade.  I was trying to escape this town for a little while."

Justin watched as Sora stood.  "Oh, wait!  You are my neighbor's friend aren't you?  I saw you leaving with her this morning."

"Oh yeah, Jess let me stay at her house last night."  Sora suddenly felt very uncomfortable with Justin staring at her.  "I'm just passing through, really."

"Where are you from?" asked Justin.

Sora took a deep breath.  "Well, I'm not from around here, or anywhere that you know of."

"Okay?"  Justin had a smile creeping over his face.  Sora couldn't help but reciprocate.

"I come from a land called the Kiswone Nation.  I am the only one of my kind to come into the human realm in thousands of years."  Sora felt awkward telling him this.  Glancing up at Justin's face, she saw a small reaction to what she said.

Justin laughed out loud.  "So you are an alien?"  He was obviously amused with this story.  "Come on, did Jess put you up to this?  Her whole family tries to convince the whole town that there are aliens.  Her uncle swears he saw them land here a few years ago."

Sora scrunched her eye brows.  She began wondering about Jess and her family.  They seemed a little odd, even for humans.

"No, Jess did not ask me to say that to you.  I am not an alien, and I did not come from outer space."  Sora was getting a little bit angry.  She slung her pack over her shoulder and said, "I have to go now, I have some important work to do."

With that, Sora wheeled around and began walking back out of the corn field, the way she came in.  Justin didn't let her leave.

"Wait!  Wait!  You didn't even tell me your name!"

Sora stopped in her tracks.  She turned to face him.  "My name is Sora, princess of the Kiswone Nation."

Justin paused for a brief second.  He was looking at Sora with a thoughtful expression.  "The Kiswone Nation eh?"

"Yes!"  Sora said.  She was getting very tired of this silly game that he seemed to be playing with her.

"I'm sorry for being rude.  Let me at least give you a ride.  You have found yourself quite a ways away from Jess's apartment."

Sora appraised Justin carefully.  He did seem to be sorry... "Well, okay.  I have to go back to the city hall."  Sora really did not like those cars, but she did see the value in them.  It would only take them a few minutes to drive the distance that took Sora an hour to walk.

Sora followed Justin the opposite way through the corn field.  He led her to a little house where there was a very large car waiting for them.

"Wow!  This car is very big.  I like this much better than Jess's small one."  Sora exclaimed as Justin opened the passenger door of his black Dodge pick up truck.  Sora climbed in.

"This is not a car."  Justin said, "It is a truck.  They are much better than cars."  He then shut the door behind her and walked around to the other side, climbing in to his seat.

As he started the truck and began to pull onto the road.  Sora began to change her mind about these huge metal contraptions.  This big truck was not so bad.  She felt much more safe.

Justin broke through Sora's thoughts when he said, "So, Sora.  Tell me more about this Kiswone Nation..." he paused.  "The name sounds a lot like a place that is described in stories and legends that have been passed down from generation to generation in my family."

Sora whipped her head toward Justin in awe.  She swore that she saw resemblance of a Kiswan in him earlier that morning!  Could it be.... could he be....?