Everfound

PART SIX

Ruin Nation

Historical Interlude with Angry Gods and Insufficient Sunscreen

T he living see only ruins. They see crumbling temples and a stepped pyramid rising out of a dense forest that, year by year, struggles to consume it. To the living, the place is ancient history, full of colorful custom, furious gods, and countless vendors selling trinkets-all very interesting, but irrelevant to a modern world. Still, the many touristts who come to the great Mayan city of Chichen Itza can’t help but feel a sense of mystical presence within the ruins that transcends time and space. No one who has ever visited Chichen Itza will ever forget they’ve been there, and those who wander the ball court, and the great field that surrounds the pyramid, aside from getting a nasty sunburn, can’t help but sense a spiritual connection to something unseen. They leave knowing they’ve had some inexplicable experience, never realizing that they have just crossed through a crowded, bustling city of seventeen thousand invisible souls.