The Still Flame

When I arrived in Mexico all those years ago, I had no plan. I hadn’t even booked an AirBNB or hostel. I was literally flying by the seat of my pants. 

Shortly before this trip, I was on a walk at my favorite area of the Mississippi, over by the U of M, my old stomping grounds. I was walking across one of the footbridges while FaceTiming my friend Jon, a fellow contactee friend. A Bald Eagle flew directly over my head. My phone camera was pointed down towards my shadow at the moment. Jon said, “Whoa!” I said, “Did you see that?” He replied, “I saw its shadow pass directly through yours!”

I’d seen bald eagles before, but this time was different. From that moment on, I felt deeply connected to eagles in a way I hadn’t before then, despite having lived by this river for my whole life. 

I felt in my heart the Eagle was a sign to take flight into the unknown. I purchased my one-way ticket… The flight couldn’t have been a day sooner or a day later, because it was on that very flight that I met the friends that invited me to Chihuahua. Specifically, Cuauhtémoc… named after the old Aztec emperor whose name means “the descended Eagle.”