“Are yi gonnae tell them aboot the aliens Lynne?”
They all laugh. It hurts, him saying that in front o his pals, when I told him in confidence, and I only told him because it wis true. It wis a few weeks ago now, and if it had been someone else I suppose I’d laugh the same, but it’s no something yi forget, and I find it hard tae see the funny side. It’s strange coz sometimes I’d ask tae be taken away, but I thought it wis God I wis asking, and I thought it wis something mair o the spirit that would come fir me those times I couldnae sleep. It happened right across fae the house, in the field by the cliffs. Do yi believe me? Could yi believe that something like that could happen here? I wis walking oor dog Lugs – we called him Lugs coz o his big ears flapping aw ower his eyes and the broo o his nose, especially when he wis excited. I liked rubbing them between my fingers and pressing his fur against my cheek, the smell o the outside on him: rain and auld earth and a sharpness that comes fae meat.
An Alien Feeling was commissioned by Scots Hoose, Scots in Schools. You can read the full story here.