Diary of Zeke: Mother's Email

Date: Fri, Oct 17, 2025 at 4:03 PM
From: Lydia Jackowski <ljackowski1971@gmail.com>
To: public-inquiries@nasa.gov
Subject: Please Help - Alien (Not Crazy)

To whom it may concern,

I found this email address on the NASA website. I didn't know who else to contact. My problem doesn't strike me as something that the NYPD is equipped to handle.

My name is Lydia Jackowski. My husband Hugh and I are longtime New York residents currently living in the Upper East Side. I teach fifth grade and my husband is an anesthesiologist.

You probably get emails like this all the time. I promise you I am not crazy. I'm sure that's what crazy people say — but this is different. If you send someone to our house I can prove everything.

On July 9th, Hugh got home from a 20-hour shift at the hospital. It was just before 2:00 AM. He likes to unwind after work by walking the dog. I was still up grading papers and I decided to join him. We walked our normal route to Green Park and continued down the East River Greenway to the construction at 70th. We had the path to ourselves. We sat on a bench catching up on our respective days when a dark object fell from the sky into the river directly in front of us — maybe 75 yards away. I felt the impact in my chest and the deep boom reverberated off the buildings like thunder, before the resulting plume of water crashed down like a waterfall. We were sprayed with mist.

Our dog went crazy. I was still in shock and sitting on the bench when my husband sprang to his feet. He said something about the seawall and told me to pick him up at Roosevelt Island before diving into the water.

I scooped up Buster and ran back the way we'd come. I decided it would be faster to catch an Uber than to go all the way back to retrieve our car from the building's garage. A half an hour later, we found him — them. "We" was me and Karthik, my Uber driver and new best friend. "Them" was Hugh and the unconscious survivor of the crash. They were on rocks near the walking path along the river. It took a while, but the three of us were able to get him — it — over the railing and on the sidewalk.

I said "it" because the survivor wasn't human. We were all dazed and wondering what to do. We expected emergency vehicles and helicopters to come swarming in at any minute, but that never happened. Karthik and Hugh loaded it in the back of the SUV.

We didn't know what else to do, so we brought it home. Honestly, I don't know what we were thinking. Karthik was a huge help. He wrapped the alien in a blanket so Hugh could carry it through the lobby like a sleeping child (it's about the size of a 12 year old). I tipped Karthik as much as the app allowed and vowed to send more. He told me it wasn't necessary, we exchanged information, and he left.

We slipped past Shawna at the front desk with a "Goodnight" and made it to the elevators. On the ride up, it came to. We were able to get it into our apartment. The strangest night of my life stretched on for over three months. We kept it. Him. We named him Zeke.

He is gentle and friendly — but most of all he is intelligent. Very intelligent. In a matter of weeks, I was able to teach him to read, write, and speak English. It was remarkable. He became part of the family, but grew increasingly frustrated by not being able to remember anything before the crash. Total amnesia. A week ago, I encouraged him to start journaling in hopes that it would help bring his memories back. I decided to contact you because of his most recent entry:

October 17 2025

Diary is working. Remembers in 1 shower. Mother and Father sleeping. Zeke is not Zeke. Zeke name in language is lo thee are breck ta mal. Family is coming to home. Remembering. Happy. Family is home 12 cycles. Mother and Father not happy to be extinked. Sad remembering.

The family he's referring to is not us and he calls days "cycles." A few nights ago, we had a long conversation about dinosaurs and how they were extinct. He was very interested in the concept of extinction. Now we're going to be extinct?!

I'm sorry I didn't contact you sooner. Can you please call me or send someone here to come get him? I don't want him to get hurt. Please don't send people with guns like in the movies. I promise you that he is not a danger to anybody — but I can't vouch for his "family."

Regards,
Lydia Jackowski
917-555-1017