Free Sky People by Ardy Sixkiller Clarke

run interference in case Enrique’s wife misunderstood my visit. His home was a small cinderblock house with a tin roof not too far from the hotel. Bougainvillea flowers fell over the fence and were in bloom in coffee cans on the windowsills. His wife was sitting outside their home in a white plastic chair under the shade of a tree shelling black beans. She stood when we pulled up, brushed off her dress, and stared at the three of us. Four small boys wearing shorts that were too big for them appeared and hid behind her. The oldest broke loose and ran toward Enrique and threwhis arms around his legs. Buddy spoke to her in Mayan and she smiled. When I was introduced to her, she took my hand and welcomed me into her home. When I explained to her that I collected UFO stories, she smiled and asked me if I had heard Enrique’s story. When I told her I had heard his story and I believed him, a relief came over her face that seemed to allay all of her fears of infidelity. She reached out and hugged Enrique around his neck and kissed him on the cheek several times. She reached for me and shook both my hands and smiled, thanking me profusely. As Buddy and I left, we offered to give Enrique a ride back to the hotel, but he decided to stay home until his shift began two hours later.
    I
have seen Enrique and his wife and children twice since our first meeting. He still has no recall of what happened to him during his six hours of lost time. During my visits, he and his wife have welcomed two more children. I am the godmother of the youngest, their only girl
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Chapter 7
The Stone Woman of Belize
    T
he name Xunantunich comes from the Mayan word meaning “stone woman.” Local legend says that around the end of the 1800s, a young man from the village of San Jose Succotz went hunting. Approaching the ancient city of Xunantunich, he crossed the base of the Castillo. Beneath the base of the pyramid was a cavern and there, standing motionless, was a beautiful statuesque Maya woman, dressed in a long white dress. She had red, glowing eyes. According to the young hunter, she sparkled in the rays of the rising sun. Awestruck by her appearance, the young man threw his gun aside and ran to the village. After telling the people about the woman of stone, several villagers, including the local shaman, went to the site. Arriving at the large mound, they found the mouth of the cave, but the Stone Woman had disappeared. Thereafter locals claimed that the woman has appeared countless times
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    A recent account by a local shaman reported that the Stone Woman was seen ascending to a large silver disk that hung over the ancient site. Others claimed that they saw her climb the pyramid and disappear inside a wall. Stephens and Catherwood did not venture to Xunantunich, but I decided to make the trip before leaving for Copán and search for the shaman who saw the UFO
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    In this chapter, you will read about the shaman’s experience
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    Driving the Western Highway, Buddy and I headed to the village of San Jose Succotz. We located the shaman’s wife, who told us that her husband was at the ancient site Xunantunich.We took a hand-cranked ferry over the Mopan River to the site. The ancient Maya archaeological site set eighty miles west of Belmopan in the Cayo District. The Guatemalan border was less than a mile away.
    Xunantunich was an archaeological site that flourished during the Classic period and survived the Maya “collapse” to remain an important population center until around 1000 BCE. Once at the site, it took only a few minutes before Buddy located the shaman, Albert Beto, who agreed to share his story with me. He explained that for several weeks, residents of San Jose Succotz had been seeing strange flying objects over the town. The villagers described the objects as circles that blocked the sun. Reportedly, there was a light radiating from underneath the craft, which pulsated from a bright yellow to a blinding blue light. There was no sound