Untitled Part 9

It was late in the afternoon when they reached the sight of the enormous sitting Buddha. They were both feeling drained from the heat and excercise, despite being careful not to exert themselves and to drink plenty of water. She knew it wasn't only cicadas humming in her ears. Her face had burned, through layers of sunscreen. They parked their bikes in a shadey spot, and after buying yet another bottle of water at the souvenir stand, they entered the fabled sight.
Directly ahead of them lay a small square covered in crumbling columns, none more than a few metres high. Behind this was a towering building, with a large, keyhole shaped opening. Through the opening peered the wise, calm face of the Buddha.

Easily fifty feet tall, it peeked through the doorway, surveying the land in front of it. They approached quietly, almost cautiously. It felt like a very sacred moment, as though this particular statue, out of the hundreds of various sizes all over the park, held the key to Enlightenment.

Inside the hall they both stood, astonished by the sheer immensity of the statue. The fingernails of the right hand, draped casually over His knee, and covered in random squares of gold leaf, were the size of her head. The hand resting in His lap could easily have cradled a sleeping adult. His head occupied the space where rafters would have been, had the shrine had a roof.

They stood dumbfounded, gazing upwards until some worshippers entered the shrine. Out of respect, they put their cameras away and left in silence.