Some say there were aliens on the craft, some alive and some dead. The army rushed in and the newspapers covered the event. They even had pictures of the unusual light material the craft was made from. Soon, the remains of the craft and its passengers were taken to a nearby airbase. The world awaited further word, but something went crazy. The next day or the next, the story about an alien spacecraft was retracted and they said the crash was nothing but a weather balloon. Oh, and you’ve probably never heard the term UFO before, it stands for Unidentified Flying Object. In other words, some people believe we’ve been visited by aliens from other planets. A few years later, some people spoke up and said the original story was true. And like I said, a few scientists confessed that the great leap we saw in technology after this incident was because we learned a bunch of things from the wreckage. The fiber optics and the integrated circuits that I mentioned are two of the main things that make computers possible, which, in turn, makes our own space travel possible.” She gave Reno a knowing look. “So, what do you think? Isn’t that the craziest thing you ever heard?”
Reno surprised her. “Well, not really. Boone swears he saw something similar once. He described a flying ship with writing on the side.”
“Huh. Well, I’m surprised.” She wrinkled her nose. “I guess I always thought of UFO’s as a modern invention.”
He chuckled again. “I believe I saw part of a program on the television called Ancient Aliens.”
“Oh, you!” She pushed him playfully. “You’re catching on entirely too quickly. Soon, you’ll be teaching me how to live in this modern world.”
“No, I guess we’re all the same. In some way, every generation thinks the world somehow started with them. As far as this topic is concerned, Clay says there are UFO’s referenced in the Bible. And Gentry once told Boone that the Puritans saw an unexplained light in the skies back in the 1600’s.”
“Interesting,” Journey considered what he’d told her. “When I was a kid, Myra took me to a cemetery in Aurora, Tx to see the grave of an alien. A spacecraft supposedly crashed there in the 1890’s and the town gave the little pilot a Christian burial. In later years, they wouldn’t let anybody disturb his grave.”
Reno helped Journey step over a fallen log. “If I were the aliens, I’d try to figure out why all my spacecraft keep crashing.”
“You got a point there.” They walked a little further on before Journey spoke up again. “When I came looking for you at the barn, you said I’d provided a timely interruption. What did you mean?”
“Oh! After the news from the lawyer, I forgot all about it.” He cleared his throat. “Kota seems to know something.”
“About what?” Since he didn’t seem to be paying attention, she nudged him to the right toward the creek when the trail was about to split into two paths.
“I tried to get him to talk about Ela and he said something really strange. I think he knows I’m from the past.”
Journey stopped in her tracks. “What did he say?”
“He said it sounded like I knew Ela better than he did.”
She touched his arm. “That is a little odd, but I don’t think it means anything.”
“That’s not all. He started talking about how saddles had changed over time and how you could tell one that was made during civil war times. Journey, he was talking about my saddle. He knows.”
“Okay.” She tried to think. “This might not be a bad thing. Kota is a brilliant man. He is educated and well-read. Instead of teaching in a university, he chose to work with his hands. He used to own a saddlery shop. I’m sure he knows everything there is to know about saddles and their history. Did you say anything about the hints he was throwing?”
“No. I pretended I didn’t notice anything.”
Journey slowed her steps as they came to the creek. After the spring rains, it was wider than normal. The rocks where she normally picnicked were underwater. “What looks like a good place to you?”
Reno surveyed the area and pointed to a slight rise beneath a big oak. “Is that close enough?”
“For sure.” As they moved toward their destination, she considered what Kota might be thinking. “Maybe he does know something.”
“That’s what I said.” Reno placed the basket on the ground, then spread a red and black plaid