I Am so proud to be a part of this years Veterans Creative Arts Festival at Hunter Holmes McGuire Army Veterans Medical Center in Richmond, VA I won first place in the short story category both local and national competition. Titled Walk With Me, below is the story enjoy

The United States Space Force is the youngest branch of the military it provides a vital role in keeping not only our country safe but the planet, it keeps watch on our vital satellites and objects hurdling towards earth at seventeen thousand miles per hour. I grew up in rural King George County thinking of how my life would turn out, as it turns out things did not happening exactly the way I thought they would.

After the military I went to college and got my bachelor’s degree, I wanted to get as much education as I could that’s when things started to change, as a child I remembered feeling something brushing against my cheek I did not believe ghost existed but there was something there. I sat for a moment looking around I saw nothing I began thinking, looking up at the sky.

Humankind has always been fascinated with space and what is out there I think the same way I am fascinated with how black holes work and the question are we alone in the universe are we the only civilization like this or are there other civilizations like our own we just do not know where they are, will we one day become a stellar civilization?

The Hubble Space Telescope can look back thirteen. four billion years into the past and see the universe as it was back then. That is a long time, but space is so vast it takes light that long to get here are there other civilizations out there? We depend on our satellites to provide vital information from GPS to communications space is uncharted territory.

This is my story about a civilization a lot like our own but different out of nowhere I met this woman while walking through the woods I was out at the old house looking for a watch I had lost; at first, I did not know what to say or do, should I approach her and talk to her. The woman did not speak and then she said my name is Roxy what is your name I said my name is Fletcher and that began to relationship that lasts until this day.

I asked her where she was from, she said I am from Marshall Cove I did not know where Marshall Cove was, so I said tell me some stories about it. She told me stories about how their civilization begun it started here on earth my grandmother is from a place called Huron three meteors hit Huron it changed us, we had to move to a planet called Aquaria this planet had healing properties that is how we became what we are now we are half human half Centauri.

I asked her to tell me about Aquaria, she said it is a place like earth. Think of a world where the only limitation is you. When it was having a difficult day, I would ask myself does God care about us does God love us she told me, God loves everybody what do you call God she said we call God Mother Nature she is loving kind and treats everyone the same the sun shines on everyone she replied.

Mother Nature gives everybody the same blessings and punishes everybody the same way that is something that I have learned over the years so this is a story I hope will inspire my fellow veterans this is a story about the Aquarians a civilization much like our own. The Aquarians were born here some of them grew up on earth just like us the gift that changed them was God-given all of us have a God-given gift. We think alien life looks different based on the planet they are from this may be true we do not know space is vast and it is a place of infinite beauty and infinite danger so we should take care of the planet God has giving us, we should not waste our natural resources.

I think we will be long gone by the time our sun runs out of fuel artificial gravity will be invented and our spaceships will be more like earth we can move into outer space, then we can live amongst the stars we can build our own ships that will help us sustain life like the Aquarians we will truly be a stellar civilization. The Aquarians don`t really exist I made them up but there are many documented UFO sightings where objects have appeared and disappeared, I am sure this exciting new branch can both shed light on these questions and protect us from whatever is out there.