Disappearing Statues

I had signed up for a cooking class earlier this week and was a little worried about finding the location and arriving on time. As per usual, I arrived at my destination easily, only I was twenty minutes early. So I wandered around and stumbled into a nearby church. Now I love churches and art so going into random churches is not unusual form and seemed like a good way to waste twenty minutes. 

I walked in and was immediately captivated by the elaborate ceiling that was a mix of painting, sculpture, and relief work. When I sat down under the dome to admire the rest of the church, I noticed a lone priest praying at a side chapel. The chapel’s altar was largely made up of an alcove containing an exquisite silver statue of a pope or saint. Seeing people praying is not unusual and I didn’t recognize the artist so I brushed it off to further study the dome. 


As I continued to observe the rest of the church, the tourists around me began to whisper and point at my praying priest. When I turned back to look, a painting was emerging from the altar, covering the alcove where the silver statue was. A minute passed as I had just seen the entire alcove covered with no evidence of its existence. I looked around for my priest, but he was gone too. Five hours later and I still am questing whether my priest or the silver statue ever existed.