It was about a quarter to eleven at night, and I figured I had better get my butt in gear. My son needed a lemon for a school science experiment in the morning, and I still hadn't made my way to the store to buy one.

Tearing myself away from CSI Miami, I put my sandals on and grabbed my purse. If I hurried, I could probably catch the end of the program, an episode I hadn't seen, which was a rare occurrence.

My son, who turned twelve a few days ago, was sound asleep, so I asked the upstairs neighbour to keep an ear open, just in case, while I was gone. We chatted for a bit about her car, that I had inadvertently backed into earlier this week - lucky, lucky me - and after reiterating that I wouldn't be gone long, I walked to the driveway to unlock my van.

I have no idea what made me look up. I was giving a cursory glance around, like I usually did before I opened my vehicle, and happened to spot a trio of unusual lights in the sky a few hundred yards away.

I didn't immediately start screaming hysterically that we were being invaded, mostly because I hadn't ascertained exactly what the lights were, and also because I'm not the type given to over-the-top-theatrics. I remember wondering if there was some sort of tower close by that I hadn't noticed before, but rejected that idea. It was dark, but not so bIack as to not be able to see the actual structure. I studied the lights, still confused as to why I hadn't seen them before now, and began pondering what I was actually seeing.

The lights were bright red, the same hue found on hundreds of Christmas trees each year, and formed a right angle, triangular pattern. I heard the sound of an aircraft, and pondered that the lights might be the underside of a jet, (because of the configuration) but as they didn't appear to be moving in any particular direction, and the only aircraft I know of that can hover isn't one that graces the skies in our neighbourhood, I discounted that theory also.

All thoughts of lemons and CSI evaporated from my mind as I continued to watch the lights. The noise of the plane's engine grew louder, yet the sound didn't seem to be coming from the direction I was looking. After a minute, and a brief glance to confirm my suspicions, I saw the airplane fly over the roof of our house, to my right, its white lights flashing on the underside.

My brain suddenly made a connection, and I realized that I could not be looking at an aircraft, as all aircraft lights blink, with the exception of their landing lights, and they do not have 'all red' running lights.

At this particular point, I decided I shouldn't be the only person witnessing this phenomena, so, without taking my eyes away from the spectacle, I walked towards the front of our house, and started knocking on the door. I didn't stop knocking until it was answered.

When my neighbour finally came to the door, I said, "Do you see that?" She came out onto the front step and looked where I was pointing.

"Oh," she said, "That's a satellite."

Now I ask you, as I did her, when have you ever seen three satellites in orbit, in a triangular configuration, this close, and not move? The only time I have witnessed a satellite traipsing across the night sky, it was so small and distant, that it could have been mistaken for a star. Not withstanding the fact, and here I repeat myself, it was moving! Having rejected another, seemingly, logical explanation for what I was seeing, I continued to stare in awe at the spectacle before me.

After what felt like an interminable amount of time, which, in actuality was maybe the space of five minutes from when I first spotted them, the middle light that formed the left angle of the triangular pattern, started moving slowly to the right, until it was directly below the one above it. At the same time, the light representing the right angle, began moving left, until it was centered below the other two.

I glanced at my neighbour, and with a huge grin on my face, said, "Splain that one!" All she could do was smile back at me, shaking her head. We watched in disbelief, as all three lights appeared to shrink in size and colour, continuing to stay in the now vertical formation, until first, the middle light disappeared, followed closely by the bottom one, and finally, the top light winked out, leaving no trace in the now pristine, night sky.

We couldn't discount what we had seen, aside from the both of us hallucinating at the exact same time, which by all counts, is as preposterous as the theory suggests, despite what the adjacent picture implies, and I will add here, that neither one of us partook of any hallucinogen, so we were left with the only logical, or illogical - depending on our own personal views - explanation as to what we had witnessed.

My neighbour smiled indulgently at me and returned to whatever I had dragged her away from, to bear witness to my discovery, and after a final, wistful glance skyward, I reluctantly returned to the task of purchasing the necessary lemon for my son's school project.

I must admit to being disappointed by the fact, that although I did have a witness to prove that I wasn't 'off my rocker', she was decidedly unimpressed by the event. Her son-in-law, who I had been hoping would be the one to join me in my discovery, and would have been just as intrigued as I had been, wasn't home.

After returning from my lemon expedition, and participating in a silent 'should-I-shouldn't-I' debate, I called the local constabulary to ask who I could phone to report what I had seen. He returned to the line from answering a 911 call, and politely gave me the number of the UFO B.C. Hot-line, which I promptly called and left a message for a call back.

It will be most interesting to see what transpires from my message, and I will definitely keep you informed of the results, should there be any. If you see a UFO, the local number for the province for British Columbia is:1-604-878-6511.

To quote from numerous television shows, movies, scientists, and fellow UFO sighters, "We are not alone..."

You really should check out Paper Moon's hub Boy, do I Feel Stupid
and Queen of the Lint's hub So, you want to be abducted by aliens...?