The legend had been around forever. No one knew where it started, but James knew it couldn’t be true. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself as he marched toward the local cemetery.

At one edge of the cemetery, there stood a man-made grotto that overlooked some of the oldest graves. Some dated as far back as the 1800s. Inside the grotto was a small votive stand and a life-sized, marble statue of an angel. James didn’t know if the angel had a name. He only knew her story. The story said that if you touched the angel’s lips at the exact moment of the autumn equinox, it would come to life, burst into flames, and destroy you.

The bursting into flames bit seemed pretty cool to James. If it was something you could pay to see at the county fair, he’d have saved up to witness it. But this was a real cemetery, not the midway at the fair. Statues didn’t come to life no matter what the circumstances, flames or no flames. James had openly mocked the believers and that mockery had put the burden of proof squarely on his own shoulders.

He’d agreed to the challenge when the equinox was still weeks away, but now that it was here, it was becoming harder to keep walking. He turned back to see his friends clustered in a group a good 100’ behind him. You know, just in case the flames were bigger than expected.

The guards at the cemetery entrance would have never allowed James and his friends inside, but that wasn’t a problem. His house bordered on a strip of forest (known only as “The Woods” to the boys) that acted as a visual barrier between the neighborhood and the large cemetery. James and his friends even played army around the disused, concrete vaults sometimes, having no idea what they really were. It would be a simple task to cut through The Woods to get to the grotto and its guardian angel.

It was a cloudy day and the early autumn chill cut right through James’ flimsy windbreaker. He neared the edge of the tree line and looked out to see the grotto and the side of its marble denizen. If he looked back at his friends, he’d appear to be afraid, so he tried to feel confident as he marched out of The Woods and across the dying grass toward his goal.

He glanced at his phone to check the time. It was 3:55. The equinox was supposed to happen at 4:02 so James had set his phone’s alarm for that time. When the alarm went off, he was supposed to touch the angel’s lips. But would he be able to do it? His heart was pounding rapidly and he felt like he had a big rock where his stomach should be.

“Go on!” hissed one of the boys who looked on from the edge of The Woods. James knew the voice belonged to Ricky Bobo. He stifled the urge to run back to the woods and beat the crap out of him. Ricky was bigger than he was, but with all his pent-up nervous energy, James felt like he could take him.

James checked his phone again. It was 4:00 sharp! Where had those five minutes gone? Weren’t things supposed to slow down when you were scared?

He marched up to the grotto and looked around. There weren’t any adults to be seen anywhere. They were never around when you really needed them. One stern adult could have put an end to this experiment once and for all.

James walked over to the angel. 4:01. He would have to stretch to touch her lips but he could reach them easily enough. Her cold, impassive eyes stared down at him. She didn’t look angry or menacing. She looked sad, like she’d just had to bury her dog. James could relate to that feeling and it gave him courage.

The phone alarm blasted in James’ hand and the device that was a hand-me-down from his older brother hit the ground with a clack! It was now or never! He squinted his eyes, turned his face away to protect it, and stretched his right arm forward to touch the angel’s lips with his index finger!

The air was still, like it had been locked inside a tomb for all eternity. There were no sounds. No smells. There was nothing to sense except for the cold, hard reality of those stone lips. For a split second, James thought the statue was going to open her mouth and bite his finger off! He stood there in the blast of the phone’s default alarm sound and waited. Nothing happened.

James thought he’d feel triumphant. Instead, he felt like some of the color had just drained out of the world. His friends emerged from The Woods, drenched in disappointment. This was worse than seeing a bad movie.

The other boys, emboldened by James’ success, caressed the statue’s lips one by one. It was just a statue after all. Nothing to see here. Move along.

They played off their disappointment by shoving one another and making crude jokes at the expense of the angel. Pretty soon, they were all bored by the whole thing and they headed back into the woods. James lagged behind. His energy levels had been so high that he was having trouble dealing with the release of it all.

He turned back to take one last look at the statue. When he did, a brilliant orange light suddenly engulfed the statue and was just as quickly extinguished. James wanted to run back over to the grotto, but he quickly pushed that idea aside. Why risk it? He grinned as he ran to catch up with his friends.