Alkebulan People of Pluto Grove
A short story about a young woman longing to know more about her ancestral power amidst growing surveillance in her community when she encounters an extraterrestrial being.
“An alien landed in the grove behind the spiritual house! I saw it when I went on my bike ride! I didn’t look back, but I saw it!”
My brother can exaggerate so much sometimes, but when he told me I was the only one that would believe what he saw, coupled with
the look in his eyes, I knew it was the truth. Growing up in Pluto Grove we’ve seen a lot of strange things, from abductions to flying big eye orbs but nothing as strange as this…
I had to see it for myself…
I’ve always sought the truth of this world but never knew my interest would lead me to the strangest thing of them all. My interest in truth may be from my strong desire to leave Pluto Grove, to expand and explore beyond my environment…I know there’s more to this experience on earth than what I’ve seen thus far…
I’ve always wished I could fly or wished for the opportunity to teleport out of here at the very least. My conscience wouldn’t let me leave Kataro though, especially after mom’s disappearance…. I mean Pluto Grove is my home and I love it, but I never felt like my Ka was from here. My mom would tell me and my brother that we were from Alkebulan and so was the rest of humanity. I questioned what that meant to me often and if “Alkebulan” was even the name of this place where we come from. What if the people there wished they could fly like me? What if they did fly? What if the first peoples of Alkebulan were a colony of beings from another planet? I've always had so many questions and this alien landing behind the spiritual house in Pluto Grove only provoked more.
The myth goes that the founders of the spiritual house were Bantu people who time traveled to this grove during times of mass abduction and violence. They began to build community with the aboriginals of this land and recognized themselves as one and the same. They were all Indigenous time travelers who shared a cosmic-based faith. The Bantu warned the aboriginals of the mass abductions taking place across the world and foreshadowed the arrival of abductors and land thieves. They agreed to protect the community they created, as well as the land they shared through ritual. Together, they decided to build an Indigenous spiritual house that would protect the land and only be visible to those born into the community. Outsiders would look at this place and see nothing but an “institution” and this is exactly what the elders wanted. Across the world, many institutions were being built as modes of spiritual and cultural code enforcement. Cultural code enforcement was then used as a gateway to take land from Indigenous people and we were determined to not be one of them. The elders knew that something had to be done and it was through hiding the true nature of the spiritual house that they found resolve. A group of elder spirit women was said to have cast a cosmic veil over the spiritual house to delude outsiders from settling. Not too long after the veil was cast there was said to have been a great conjunction between Jupiter and Pluto in the sign of Aquarius. It was during that time that some of the aboriginals and Bantu people teleported and created a community on the planet, Pluto. They were said to have never been seen again…
Those who decided to stay and be caretakers of the land renamed the place, Pluto Grove, to pay homage to the solidarity between the Indigenous space travelers. The people of Pluto grove seemed to always be in a constant cosmic spiral with time, space, and our material world. The protection ritual and veil have been successful for hundreds of years but recently we have seen more abductions and the roaming of big eye orbs in the trees. Nobody knows what’s happening, but I wish I did. I wish I knew more of these ancient mysteries, what they mean to me, and what I could do with them. This myth seemed to be forgotten by many but remembered by few.
In Pluto Grove, there are trees as tall as skyscrapers with leaves ranging from shades of red to shades of electric green. We have gardens in every compound and vines that have a mind of their own, coiling around streetlights, gates, and homes. I have always admired nature for its beauty but especially for its connection to the Great Mystery. The trees reminded me that there was so much more to the world I knew - millennia of human history seemingly lost in translation. I often felt like a tree, holding wisdom that came from the divine, able to see the world change around me but only feeling like a spectator to it all. This is why I wish to teleport or fly, I would go to a beautiful land in Alkebulan, soaking in lots of suns, seeing magnificent trees, listen to mystical stories, swim in electric waters, explore unknown lands and meet beautiful people.
I will always be grateful for my mother planting this seed of imagination. She told me, “Everyone comes from the womb of an Alkebulan woman and the descendants of Mama Alkebulan are full of Maji, cosmic wisdom, mysticism, and strength. We have a memory that allows us to create and resist with love and a mighty sword”. I never knew what she meant by “resist” with love, but she went on to talk about the virus that plagues the universe since the mass abduction of Alkebulan people. She said, “our cries and our pain were spread all over the universe and inquisitive resistance, love, and a mighty sword were the only cure.” It was always beautifully strange to hear about the parables of our time here. My mother’s philosophy on the culture of our people and the importance of resistance stuck with me for years to come.
The next morning, I went to my brother’s room hoping he would walk with me on the trail. As I opened the door, there he was with a copper bowl covering his head. He tells me, ‘it’s so it won’t read my thoughts”. At that moment, I realized that bringing my film camera would be best. There was a conspiracy theory going around that newer tech devices were connected to the big eye orb and can track your location and hear your conversations. I always believed abductors and land thieves hacked into our tech devices for fun but mainly for surveillance. I didn’t want them to have access to this moment, this moment felt personal, a moment I want to always remember no matter what happens. We walked in a pensive silence up the block, past the spiritual house, and into the grove. As we walked, I played with the crystals I carried in my pocket. There was howlite, amethyst, and rose quartz. I brought them as offerings and had no clue how this being would respond to me, I just hoped that it knew I meant no harm.
As we walked through the grove, I thought about how zoned out Kataro was when he got back. He was tired from biking and very frightened. Although he tried to play it off, his aura was sharp and his energy was frantic. He didn’t have to say a word for me to feel and know the truth of the matter. Before mom’s disappearance, it was very difficult for me to differentiate what feelings were mine and what feelings were someone else’s. Something about her disappearance felt like a form of initiation.
As we got closer, I started to notice the tranquility of the grove, the sun piercing through the trees meeting the morning fog, the dew kissing the grass, and water resting on the leaves. There were so many fireflies that began to show up and this made me think about my grandfather. As a little girl, my grandfather would tell me that as the world evolves the fireflies would go extinct. Surprisingly they’re still here, lively in the morning rather than evening, and I took this as a good omen. I wanted to catch one, savor the time with it, maybe make a friend, but as we got deeper into the grove, more of them arrived. This surge of fireflies was accompanied by a graceful swarming of dragonflies that followed. I’ve never seen so many at one time let alone in such synchronicity. They were awakened by something. Unexpectedly, tears began to roll down my face and Kataro brought me closer to him and rubbed my shoulder. It felt like the universe was comforting us on our walk. As I finished wiping my eyes, the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand up. Kataro stopped suddenly and whispered, “There it is”.
Their body resembled terracotta clay, their eyes were a striking warm brown and their aura was a light pale yellow. The most fascinating thing about them was their hair, it was tightly coiled but fell heavily to their torso-like locs. They were seemingly disoriented and unconscious but their eyes were wide open, gazing straight ahead as if they didn’t sense anything around them. Kataro took a step back as I took one forward, I reassured him with a stare that everything was okay but we both dared to say a word. I walked slowly towards them, they didn’t move, blink, or even turn towards me. I carefully took the crystals out of my pocket and just as I placed them on the ground in front of them, everything seemed to stop and without moving they looked me dead in my eyes.
I was frightened but I looked back to check on Kataro only to find him as still as the air. I noticed time indeed stopped but when I turned back around they were smiling at me. Shocked with my heart beating out of my chest, my spirit told me to sit and I did. As I sat down my eyes grew heavy, so heavy they closed, and when they opened we were on a mountain. My back was towards a cliff, my body stiffened.
They were standing right in front of me and asked, “Why are you so scared? Didn’t you say you wanted to be somewhere other than Pluto Grove?”
“Yes... but how did you know that?” I asked mysteriously looking over my shoulder.
They swiped their hand over my eyes, and we were back in the Grove. “Where are you from?” I finally asked.
“I come from the Bantu star seeds of Pluto,” they said proudly. My eyes grew wide with surprise,
“I’m from the Bantu people of Pluto grove... that old myth is true..”
“You knew in your heart it was true. This is why I came to see if you were ready.”
Confused, I asked “What do you mean by ready? Ready for what ?”
They picked up one of the crystals I placed on the ground, “You offering me this says a lot about you. Do you know what the big eye orb would do if they saw you bring this to me? What were your intentions when you brought these?... The Bantu people of Pluto sense the agitation and stagnant energy of this land. This planet’s people are too comfortable with the current vibration, it’s a very depressing situation. This is why I am here. We wonder where the warriors are”
“Hmmm...well, I want to be free, but my freedom wouldn’t mean anything if the rest of my people aren’t. I want us all to be free, free of fear, free of surveillance, and free of complacency. Can you help us?” I responded.
They looked at me with loving eyes and said, “You are ready, but you must leave your worldly attachments behind. They will drive you insane – you are what you’ve been looking for… but this planet’s vibration is too low, you have to come with me.”
I looked back at Kataro and they pulled my face back towards them. Their hands were so warm but very moist, like mist hitting your face on a sunny day.
“Before you can free anyone, you must be free in some capacity, willing to remember, and willing to give your life to the All -not any one person or people. You are spirit and flesh, yes, but you are spirit first…”
I began to think about my mother and the characteristics in which she described Alkebulan people. They were all characteristics of one’s spirit, the spirit of our culture.
“I am here to take you with me to be taught, and initiated. You will return and you will bring others,”
I would also be able to send my brother messages through dreams, numbers, insects, animals, and other good omens. They waved their hand over my eyes again and we were back on the mountain. This time I faced the cliff and began to see a spaceship made of deep teals, greens, and browns rise out of the fog. It was shaped like a tree with its entrance was at the roots, and as it began to open, I began to make out the figure that was waiting to welcome me aboard. At the root where she had always been, there was my mother…