More than a dozen years ago I visited Ta Prohm, the famous Tomb Raider temple, with my girlfriend. As we walked along the dirt path that led from the east gate to the temple itself, I became distracted by everything around me: branches hanging from trees that didn’t exist in the United States, tourists from all over the world, bugs that wouldn’t quit flying into my ear. Suddenly my girlfriend grabbed me and used her full 42 kilograms to pull me aside, breaking my stride and making me stumble. I quickly realized why: I had almost stepped on a massive black scorpion. We hurried down the path away from the alien creature that had attempted to murder me and away from the crowds of tourists laughing at my terror.
The scorpion is still there….somewhere.
After a long break, I finally returned to Ta Prohm this week, during the Age of Corona, and a lot has changed. The girlfriend was no longer there. Though I had pledged my everlasting gratitude to her at the time for saving my life, our relationship lasted only a couple of months more (probably because of my terrified whimpering). More interesting was that the crowds weren’t there, either. I was totally alone except for the scorpion, which was presumably still hiding somewhere along the path, plotting my destruction.
