The Curious Proposal for Prosperity, Nevada

by Ellie Marrandette

  Travis knocked on Ella's door, praying she'd allow him inside. When she came to the door he began, “Ella, you were right. I acted like a jerk and I'm sorry. Can we sit down; I've got something extremely important to say.”

  Reluctantly, she opened the door, backing away cautiously, allowing him to enter. What now? She wondered as she escorted him over to the couch and sat next to him.

  Travis got right to the point, “Do you remember when we first found out we were different from everyone else?”

  “Sure, from Professor Grumond, I remember. What has that got to do with anything?” Ella asked, impatient for him to state what he came for.

  “Well, I just found out, we're not alone. There are others.”

  Ella's eyes widened as she pursued warily, “Are you sure? Who told you?”

  “Alex did.”

  “Alex? What does he know about us?”

  “Well, he knows Professor Grumond.”

  Ella rolled her eyes in disbelief, “Oh come on! Now I'm beginning to doubt his credibility as much as you are!” She shook her head in disbelief, “That's just too much of a coincidence Travis! How could he possibly know him?”

  Travis then proceeded to tell her the story, “Let me start at the beginning. Thirty-five years ago, a spacecraft crash-landed in the Superstition Mountain range. There were twenty-three people on board; pilot, co-pilot, navigation specialist, medical officer, several scientists including two families with small children. Only sixteen survived the crash. We were two of those children, El.”

  Ella contemplated what he had just stated and gasped, “The nightmares I had, that recurring dream . . . it was based on fact then, wasn't it?”

  Travis reached for her hand and nodded, while Ella looked stunned. He proceeded, “As you know, my family took me to Idaho and began a life there in a remote farming community, but the other survivors mostly took off for more metropolitan areas to blend in. Over the years, they've married, had families and now they're regrouping in one central area.”

  All of a sudden, Ella understood the connection. “They're moving here, aren't they?!” she got up and paced, “I knew that new artist in town was a bit strange!” Then turned to ask, puzzled, “but why here?”

  “Wait, there's still more. One couple actually saw the crash, was close enough to the scene that they rushed to help, not knowing what they would find. I'm sorry Ella . . . your mother and sisters died in that crash. Only your father survived. Did you know that?”

  She sat back down, trying to digest all he was telling her. Finally she inquired, “He gave the impression that my entire family died in the crash. Why didn't Professor Grumond tell me my father was still alive?”

  Travis continued slowly, “He left that up to your adopted parents but apparently they never found the right time.” He reached for her hand again. “So let me tell you now. Your father was the Information Officer on-board. He was critically injured and needed a great deal of care. That local couple stayed on to assist the others, bringing them food, water and helped them bury their dead. That couple, Ella, as you can probably guess, was Mary and Joe Peterson. Since your father couldn't provide for you, they persuaded him to let them raise you.”

  “They told me from the beginning that I was adopted and how grateful they always were that I came into their lives. I always knew I was somehow different, but they never told me why. They left that to Professor Grumond.”

  “Dr. Grumond was one of the scientists aboard that spacecraft. He never disclosed much of the personal facts we wanted, like the “why's and how's”. He only told us we looked on the outside like everyone else on earth but we absorbed data faster. Like you, I was left searching for other pieces of the puzzle. This is one reason why I went into the Air Force and eventually to Project Blue Book.”

  When he paused, Ella stated, “I always had questions too, but my parents always kept putting those off, saying when the time was right they'd tell me. When they died, I figured the answers were lost forever and I adjusted to my life here. But you haven't told me; what happened to my father?”

  Before Travis answered, a knock was heard on the front door. Ella got up to answer and found Bob Jefferson, Ethel, Nick, Jim and Alex on the front porch. She escorted them in; curious as to why they had dropped in at this particular moment. It was too much of a coincidence. Her female instincts were on fire. Maybe Jim has some newspaper articles or Nick has a police report to look over. Maybe Ethel remembers seeing the crash too.

  Travis and Alex brought more chairs from the dining room and everyone settled in.

  Finally Ethel was the first to speak. “So I surmise Travis told you already? I'm sure it's quite a shock to you, but I want you to know that you were never really alone. We all watched out for you.”

  Ella scanned the room. “Thank you. I always felt close to you too.”

  As Nick shook his head, his eyes flashed a brilliant green, “No Ella, I don't think you understand our meaning.”

  When the realization of his words set in, Ella gasped, “You mean, you all are . . . like me?”

  “That's right El, except for Ethel and Jim, we all were aboard that spacecraft that day.” Nick confirmed. “As you saw, we repaired it enough to crash land it once again for show.” Snickering, Nick snorted, “Weather balloon, my eye! Alex bailed out just before it crashed. We stripped it pretty clean beforehand, so the Air Force won't find anything much.” When Ella's eyes widened, Nick hastily added, “Don't worry, we have plenty more.”

  Ella glanced around the room. Why hadn't they clued her in before? These were her friends for decades and they had kept her in the dark. It was a cruel joke. “Then maybe one of you can tell me what happened to my real father?” she asked them, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

  Nick answered,” Your father was my best friend, but he knew he couldn't give you a stable life at that time. First, he was recovering, then as a single parent in a strange environment, he didn't know if he could provide for you. So he gave you to the most stable and loving couple you could possibly have. It broke his heart but it was the most practical and most loving gesture he could do for you. Jim always sent him newspaper clippings of you from Prosperity.”

  Then Ethel broke in, “But he always looked in on you and knew how you were doing.”

  “He came to see me? When, how?”

  “Do you remember that old man, your Uncle Pete, who stayed with you for a week when you were ten?”

  “Yes, I loved him! He taught me how to fish down by the pier. My mom told me he passed away a few years later.”

  “Do you also remember the car salesman in Pahrump who sold you your first car when you were going off to college?”

  “Yes, I thought it was really strange of my father to want to buy a car there and not in our town”

  “Well Ella, both of them was your father. He always loved you and always had a way of checking in on you.”

  “Ethel, you're crazy! The car salesman was younger than my uncle! He couldn't possibly be the same man!”

  “Most of our kind are shape shifters. We can change into whatever we like. As we age, we'll move away and come back as someone else. You probably inherited that trait too but we won't know until you're around age fifty.”

  “Well, if he loved me, why didn't he reveal himself to me?”

  Bob answered that question, “How could he know for sure it wouldn't have destroyed everything? What would your reaction have been? You might have wanted to confide in someone and that would have blown our cover. What if you had insisted on going with him, how would Mary and Joe explain that? Our town could have been destroyed, so they erred on the side of caution.”

  Ella got up and paced, “So they had Professor Grumond reveal the truth of my alien existence to me, or at least some of the truth. How is that better? “

  Nick explained, “Ella, after the crash, we developed a plan that some day we would all be brought together again and no one would be the wiser as we came
here. Not just us, but all of our kind who came here over time. I know you believed the UFO plan was yours, but we actually thought it up thirty-five years ago. We simply programmed the idea into your brain so you'd bring it up eventually.”

  Ethel stated, “Nick, you're confusing the poor girl, so why don't you let me fill in some details. Long before the unfortunate crash, some of us had lived here peacefully for nearly one hundred fifty years. I came here on that first expedition.” As Ella's mouth dropped open, Ethel continued, “Yes dear, I really am that old. You see it's good to be able to change shapes. I only wish I had requested Sophia Loren's body at the time,” she chuckled. “Don't you ever wonder why she never ages?

  “We mined the silver ore for use in our craft's mechanisms. When the military started snooping around in the '50s, we stashed our spacecrafts in mine shafts, posting 'Extreme Danger, No Trespassing' signs all around them and laid low for years until we were ready to send for recruits again. We were just as shocked as everyone else when this last mission failed. Of course to appease the curious media, the Air Force released a statement that a prototype military craft had failed.”

  Bob added, “They still watched us though, and it would have been strange for so many strangers to arrive in one place at once. So for the safety of all, our survivors dispersed for other areas of the country. Before they left, we came up with this elaborate plan to bring everyone back to Prosperity and programmed the idea into you.”

  Ella tried to absorb the shock. “This is all too much,” she announced, shaking her head. “I've lived with you for years and you never told me any of this until now? And why doesn't anyone answer my question; where is my father.”

  “I'm him, Ella. I'm your father.” All eyes riveted toward Alex, who was standing against the wall.

  Ella shook her head in disbelief, “You're too close to my age, so you couldn't be.”

  Alex spread his arms wide, “Shape shifter, remember? I taught you how to fish when you were ten, sold you your first Ford twenty years ago, I hiked alongside you on Camelback Mountain, played music at your college friend's wedding and was in your foursome when you tried to play golf at Pebble Creek. Word to the wise on that, don't quit your day job.”

  He sat down next to her and spoke more seriously, “Honey, it broke my heart to leave you. I never wanted to give you up, I trust you believe that. I did what was best for you at the time. Since I couldn't give you stability, I sacrificed my happiness to give you a better life, but I never stopped loving you, I hope you understand and can forgive me.”

  Ella shook her head sadly, “All those years are lost to us. We'll never get them back, they are lost forever, wasted, gone in a flash. You weren't there. We missed so much together!”

  “Oh honey, in our lifetime those years are but a blip on a time line. I watched your first steps . . . I heard your first words . . . I watched you drive away in your first car, those important moments are here,” motioning to his heart, “those will never be taken away. We'll live so much longer here on earth . . . so much longer than humans. We still have half a millennium to be together. You'll understand someday.”

  Ella's eyes widened, “And what about my friend Beth? She's in love with you. Is she . . . also . . .?”

  Ethel spoke this time, “No, Ella she isn't one of us. But neither was my husband and we had a wonderful life together. If she really loves Alex it won't matter, as it didn't to my Hale.”

  “I know she's madly in love with you,” Ella stated turning toward her father. “And she thinks you look like George Clooney.”

  “Good,” because that's the look I was going for. Not a bad choice, if I do say so myself” Alex grinned, his glowing green eyes sparkled at his daughter, “ Oh by the way, your name . . . Ella . . . it stands for Extraterrestrial Life-Like Alien,” he shrugged, “just a little play on words. You get your sense of humor from me.”

  Ella smiled through her tears, “Welcome home, Dad.”

  And Prosperity continues to this day.