Book 1: Revelation at Tikal – Ch 16: Chasing the Afterimage

In Chapter 16 of Revelation at Tikal, Cutty realizes he has not been following Floey so much as the afterimage she leaves behind: rumors, sightings, symbols, and the lives she has disturbed along the way. Timothy departs Tikal by DC-3, the Temple of the Moon acolytes disappear from view, and Cutty's search for his missing artist sister takes on a new shape. As he waits for a motorcycle part and gathers fragments of information, Tikal becomes both delay and revelation: a place of ancient temples, passing travelers, strange dreams, and half-understood warnings. At the Jaguar Inn, a dinner among wanderers turns serious when Conrad brings news of a barefoot gringa nun, followers gathering behind her, and a hurried escape toward Chichicastenango. Floey is no longer only missing. She may be becoming a symbol, and in Guatemala, symbols can become dangerous. Meanwhile, Paula walks beside Cutty with her own silence, carrying something he does not yet know how to read.