MAGNESIUM

MAGNESIUM

By: Terri Talley Venters

“We must be getting close, I see the magnesium veins in the rock walls,” Victoria said. She led her boyfriend/colleague down a labyrinth cave system outside of Paris, France.

“Let’s be careful, we don’t want to ignite this mine,” Tommy said. His sandy-blonde hair glowed in the beam of light from Victoria’s headlight. His untamed curls framed his handsome, green-eyed face.

“We’re fine, we’re using battery powered lights, not gasoline lanterns,” Victoria said. She pointed to the light on her headband covering her long dark hair.

They came to a mining tunnel and stared incredulously at the low height.

“Why would they make such short tunnels? We’re going to have to crawl through on our hands and knees,” Tommy said.

“I thought you liked me on my knees,” Victoria smiled, teasing her man.

“You owe me a back rub later for making me hunch over like Quasimodo to get down here,” Tommy said. He smiled suggestively at Victoria, winking at the recollection of prior rub downs and where they often led.

Tommy stared into Victoria’s ice-blue eyes and couldn’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be, than cave exploring with his beautiful girlfriend and fellow archaeologist.

They crawled through the shaft for a hundred yards. Just as Victoria felt claustrophobic, the tunnel opened up to a large cavern. Victoria stood upright again and brushed the debris off of her toned limbs.

The cavern appeared as is if someone currently mined it. The scaffolding and ladders went from the floor to the fifty-foot ceiling.

Tommy shined his flashlight along the cavern walls, its beams bounced off of its treasure like tiny prisms.

“Are those?” Victoria asked.

“Diamonds,” Tommy said, finishing her sentence. He retrieved a small chisel from his excavation kit and tapped at the rock surrounding the precious gem. A diamond as big as his fist dropped into his eager hands.

“Incredible, look at all of them. The diamonds I can see in the room alone must be worth a billion Euros,” Victoria said.

“I never knew such an abundant supply existed, and in France,” Tommy said.

“I wonder who owns all of this? They must be withholding to avoid flooding the market and deflating the price of diamonds,” Victoria said.

“You know, I think I know who owns this, assuming the land owners above also own the mineral rights. Look at what is located directly above us,” Tommy said. He handed Victoria his hand-held, techie-nerd GPS device.

“We’re right below Euro Disney,” Victoria said.

“I feel bad for stealing from a mouse. But this will fund our digs for the rest of our lives,” Tommy said as he pocketed the diamond.

“Shhh, I hear something,” Victoria said. She ducked behind a mining cart and hid from the intruder. She grabbed Tommy’s strong bicep and yanked him down beside her.

“Oh, crap! Who are these men? They look like, no, it can’t be,” Tommy said. His chiseled-jaw dropped to the floor, along side Victoria’s.

They stared incredulously as a group of miners entered the gem mine. Their short stature and bearded faces made them look comical, yet familiar. They sang a catchy tune as they started their work shift.

“They’re dwarves,” Tommy said, without taking his eyes off of the unique, yet unmistakable workers before him.

“This explains the short height of the mining tunnels and scaffolding. They look just like…” Victoria said, cut off by Tommy’s words.

“I know, only there’s more than seven working here today,” Tommy said.

Victoria and Tommy watched the dutiful dwarves arrive to start their shift. They grabbed their pickaxes and prepared for their day digging diamonds and precious gems out of the rocks beneath Euro Disney outside of Paris, France.

They continued singing the familiar song in unison “Hi Ho….”