Aurora - Part 3

The dirt road was filled with police vehicles.

Officers surrounded the entrance to the forest. Further back, an ambulance remained with its doors open. Army personnel had arrived shortly afterward.

Aurora remained in the same place.

Floating.

Just a few centimeters above the ground.

There were no ropes.

No wires.

No equipment.

She simply remained there.

A police officer slowly approached.

— Aurora?

The girl raised her eyes.

She did not answer.

— Can you hear me?

She continued looking at him.

The officer crouched down.

He extended his hand.

— Can I touch you?

Aurora did not react.

He touched her arm.

He paused for a few seconds.

— She's warm.

Another officer approached.

— Pulse?

— Normal.

— Breathing?

— Normal too.

The second officer ran his hand through the girl's hair.

— Skin feels normal.

He looked at his colleague.

— There's nothing different about her.

A doctor examined Aurora.

— Pupils normal. Temperature normal. Oxygen saturation normal.

— Then why is she floating?

The doctor looked at the girl's feet.

— I have no idea.

A soldier approached.

— Can I try pulling her down?

The officer hesitated.

— Slowly.

The soldier grabbed Aurora by the arms.

— Come on, girl.

He pulled.

Nothing.

He tried again.

Nothing.

Aurora remained at exactly the same height.

The soldier strained harder.

Her body moved a few centimeters forward, but remained suspended.

When he let go, she slowly returned to the exact same spot.

— Is she heavy?

— Normal weight.

— Then why doesn't she come down?

No one answered.

Another officer approached and held the girl's waist.

— Aurora, I'm going to try to put you on the ground, okay?

She simply looked at him.

The officer bent his knees and tried lowering her.

He couldn't.

It wasn't as though something were holding Aurora up.

There was no resistance.

It was worse.

It simply didn't happen.

Her body could be touched.

It could be held.

It could be pushed.

But the ground seemed not to exist for her.

The officer released the girl.

Aurora remained suspended.

The commander looked at the doctor.

— Is she injured?

— No.

— Is she in pain?

— She doesn't show any signs of it.

— Is she conscious?

The doctor looked at Aurora.

She was watching the police officers.

Then the soldiers.

Then the ambulance.

Like a child trying to understand why so many people were staring at her.

— She is.

The commander took a deep breath.

— Does she speak?

— Not so far.

— Have you tried asking her name?

— Yes.

— And?

— Nothing.

Silence.

In the distance, a helicopter approached.

The commander looked toward the sky.

— Has the Army sent someone?

— Already.

— And the scientists?

— On their way.

He turned his eyes back to Aurora.

— And her?

The doctor replied:

— She's fine.

— Fine?

— Physically, yes.

The commander looked at her feet again.

— How long has she been floating?

— Almost four hours.

The commander remained silent for a few seconds.

— And she hasn't fallen even once?

— No.

— Has she slept?

— We don't know.

Aurora continued looking at everyone.

Quiet.

No apparent fear.

No anger.

No exaggerated curiosity.

Just watching.

A police officer approached her again.

This time, he placed his hand on her shoulder.

Aurora looked at him.

He smiled faintly.

— You don't have to be afraid.

She continued looking at him.

The officer removed his hand.

And realized that, for the first time since they had arrived, this no longer felt like a police incident.

It felt like something else.

Something no one there had been trained for.

The commander finally asked:

— What if she just stays like this?

The doctor looked at Aurora.

— For how long?

— Forever.

No one answered.

Aurora continued floating.

A few centimeters above the earth.

As if it were the most normal thing in the world.

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