It was one of the things I liked to do
Training for cross-country
Determined and focused 
Five days a week
Gray skies and clear
Heading south
Running up to the Soufriere
It’s a long road
A concrete road
A hard road
A winding road
Runs uphill forever
A battle
Endurance
Strength 
Stamina
It’s a lonely run
A beautiful run
In the evening
Weary farmers on foot and donkey
Going home
The sun sinking behind you
Head down arms driving
Feeling invincible
Upwards, upwards and on

I knew early on I was different
Knew things nobody else knew
Saw things, heard things
Did things they didn’t know I could do
I could feel something watching me on these runs
Nothing you can explain
It’s not a person
Nothing singular, it’s a force
Nothing malevolent to me
But all of a sudden
I find myself “expecting” something 
Somebody
Nothing that I seek
Unable to shake it for more than a week
The road ends with flourish
A steep climb, little twist, around a bend 
Sloping down towards an entrance
To the Soufriere
I’d get to the end, around the roundabout
And head back
Another damn fine workout
Today was different
Go to the top, ready to go down
And around
And it was there
Just above and behind the trees at the end of the road
A spaceship
And I froze
End of the line
As the story goes

It was white
White like I had never seen
A startling contrast to the
Hills of green
It’s not one of the long cylindrical ones
Those I’ve seen at a distance
Spherical, smooth
Two hundreds yards or so away
The main difference
There’s a soft wind blowing
And the leaves are swaying
Is it a mirage?
Is it rocking?
This ship has no marks
But I can’t see it all
Not a hum, not a whine
Nothing stirring in my head
Nothing on my mind
Total Isolation
Not a sound
It and I 
The only things around
The hulking shadow of Chances Peak
To my left
Galways, Soufriere Hills on the right
Feeling vulnerable
Creeping me out 
What oh what…
Is this all about?
I could complete my run
But that would place me in its shadow
And if I turn and the road is blocked
Nowhere to run
Nowhere to go
So I wait…

I am not afraid
Never have been
Always was “aware”
Always knew “they” were there
But I was cautious
Perhaps it’s the unknown I don’t trust
So we waited
I waited
The sun’s gone
Getting cold and darker
It’s getting whiter
And I wait…

And now…
Much, much later
I’m one year older 
Wiser
Smarter
And I have
Questions
And…
Answers
To questions I’ve been 
Running after
Since that unforgettable
Soufriere encounter