Just My Thoughts - Page Two
By Christina M. Meide

The electricity had gone out in the apartment which meant the loss of the lights and the television. Being 14, I was a bit unnerved, so I tried to call my mother. The phone was completely dead as well.

Not knowing what else to do, I went to the patio doors of our ground floor apartment, slid them open and stepped outside. It was incredibly dark out there. Not even the lights in the parking lot only a small yard and sidewalk away from our patio were shining. Everything was pitch dark.

Up on the hill, about a ten minute drive from our apartment was the hospital. It was kind of a landmark for me and I always knew that there were people there when I was all alone. On this night, at this time, there was nothing. Everything I was accustomed to seeing lit up and bright at night was now completely dark.

Other curious tenants had started coming outside to see if they could determine the cause of the blackout. One of the doors to enter the apartments was right next to our patio, so there was a small crowd of people standing right next to me. They were on the sidewalk and I was within the confines of the waist high patio wall.

I don't remember if we all noticed at the same time or if one person pointed it out, but suddenly we were all staring out into the night sky with our mouths hanging open. Several people stood for a moment, then ran inside to grab their cameras.

Straight out from us in the night sky was the largest vessel I can ever remember seeing. It was much larger than any commercial aircraft. In fact, I would venture to say that it would have easily dwarfed 20 commercial airliners, or more, lined up side by side.

It was round with a multitude of lights of many different colors all around its perimeter. There was no noise, just a sudden brightness of color that was truly amazing to witness.

I cannot say now, how many people from my apartment complex witnessed this with me, but I do know that I was the only child amongst them. No one uttered a word. There were camera flashes going off and on over and over again from several different cameras, but other than that, we were all stunned, staring into the colorful night sky at something out of a science fiction film.

There was plenty of time for pictures as it stayed stationary in that same spot for nearly 15 minutes. But, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone. Again, there was no sound, and we didn't watch it fly away off into the distance. It was just suddenly gone.

I remember we just all stood there staring for a moment at where it had been, and then the silence erupted with everyone talking at once. Neighbors who had never spoken were talking to each other, each trying to speak over one another in their excitement. I had no one to talk to. A few glanced my way, but I was a child, so no one spoke to me.

Less than two minutes after the craft disappeared, all of the lights came back on in the area. I heard my television come back on and turned to see the blue glow of its screen reflecting on the couch inside. All of the parking lot lights came on, and the lights up on the hill at the hospital glowed to life again.

Of course, I did share what happened with some of my friends, but I don't believe I ever shared it with my mother. We were living in the apartment while my father lived in our house in Pennsylvania as I think she'd had enough of the whole U.F.O. business. Some things were better kept to myself.

I don't recall checking the newspapers or hearing anything on the news about this sighting. I've thought upon occasion about going back into the newspaper archives to see if I can find anything on it, but have not had the opportunity to do so.

Part of me wants to do this, but part of me doesn't. I know what I saw, and I know what others standing close to me saw, and I would hate to see the excuses of what it may have been in print. I would also hate to find out that the whole episode was erased as though it never happened because these things are supposed to be so secret.

I do know that as I've grown older, I understand that the technology that I witnessed that night is something that we have not yet achieved. Our rockets make tremendous noise taking off for outer space. Our airplanes can be heard even far up in the the sky as we stand on the ground watching their contrail. This vessel, as huge as it was, made no sound at all.

I have never had another sighting since that time, but in 2004, I wondered if I was being removed from my bed at night or if I was being visited by something or someone.

All I had to go on was a small needle mark in the back of my hand where the largest vein sticks out. The first time I noticed it, I assumed that I had laid so that the small diamond ring on my right hand had poked in that spot on my left hand. I didn't think much of it at that point.

However, about a month and a half later, I woke and discovered the same kind of needle mark on the back of my right  hand in the largest vein. My ring could not have done that unless I could bend my ring finger completely up and over the back of my hand. Since my ring finger was not broken, that didn't seem likely. Nor do I wear any rings on my left hand.

Another month and a half later, I discovered another mark in the same spot on my right hand. This time it was somewhat black and blue, raised and swollen and uncomfortable to the touch. This swelling went down in a couple of days, but the soreness and the visibility of the mark stayed for nearly two weeks.

It happened one final time before we moved from that private rental home to a completely different house and town. The last time was much like the first two with only the barest amount of discomfort and it disappeared quickly.

There has been no sign of this again, and though there may be a logical explanation, we have not been able to determine it. I recall being extremely tired during those times even though I continued to get the same amount of sleep, but I don't remember dreaming anything or having my sleep interrupted.

I will admit to it being quite unnerving, though. The third time was what really started me thinking since I'd had surgeries that required I.V.'s and the mark that leaves was very similar to what I experienced the third time it happened.

Needless to say, I spent several months after that checking the backs of my hand and the veins just to be sure. So far, all is clear.