by Emma Hamm
“I do.” Her hand squeezed again, letting go because she knew he didn’t like to have her mothering him too much. “You’re going to do something great with your life Luther, I’ve never questioned that at all.”
She heard the shift of his nod and was pleased with herself for the moment. It was stressful to try and be the support system for this family. How their parents had done it, she would never understand.
Jane wanted her siblings to know that she loved them. But she didn’t want them to think that they could just get away with whatever behavior they thought was necessary. Willow would be running up the walls, Luther would be telling everyone what to do. It would become a much more stressful life than any of them wanted to live.
Maybe she just wasn’t cut out to be a parent. She had thought she always wanted a child of her own, perhaps with her hair and her husband’s eyes. The longer that she took care of her siblings, the more she thought maybe she was wrong. A child and a husband were big responsibilities that she wasn’t so certain she was cut out for.
Perhaps when they were in the city they would be able to find someone to marry her. She had never thought of love, but a rich man that said she didn’t have to work was certainly something she would entertain.
“Why are you two awake?”
The soft mutter came from over Luther, the high pitched voice of her beloved younger sister.
“Go back to sleep Willow, we’re done talking.”
“You get to talk but I don’t?” She could already tell her sister had put her hands on her hips even though she was lying down.
“We’re trying to sleep!”
But the words weren’t said quickly enough. The youngest of the Penderghast family was clambering over Luther and wedging herself between her two older siblings.
Luther groaned, holding his hand to his ribs when she shoved a bony knee into him. Jane flinched back with a gasp when an elbow caught her underneath a chin.
“Willow would you sit still!”
“This is why you don’t sleep in the middle!”
She continued to wiggle, however, until she was perfectly comfortable. “What are we talking about?”
“We were talking about Janey working in the mines,” Luther grumbled.
“You mean with her boyfriend?”
If it hadn’t been dark out already, she would have pushed a hand down her face and hoped that she could gouge out the memory.
“I don’t have a boyfriend, Willow.”
“Yes you do!”
“You do?” Luther asked.
“Would you two stop, I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Then who’s the big red head that you always go in with?”
Her fingers tickled her sister, digging into her ribs until the smaller child was wiggling once again in laughter.
“You little sneak! You’ve been following me!”
Luther rolled his eyes, shifting away from the two girls so that he didn’t get hit in the face. He knew from experience that Willow would start throwing punches when she got excited. How she was ever going to get married, he would never know. No man wanted to sleep with a woman that became a brawler in bed.
“Of course I followed you!” Willow managed to gasp between giggles. “And I’m glad I did, because you’re in love!”
”You are?” Luther asked, once again startled.
“No! Would you two stop it? Willow, stop moving you’re going to hit your brother.”
But when it came down to it, she was not their mother. Luther continued to pelt her with questions and Willow continued to squirm. Eventually the two older siblings would gang up on the youngest as they usually did, and tie her down with their blankets until she couldn’t move.
Laughter died down from the tent, and the three of them fell asleep with an ease that not many could have done. They only had each other in this world left now. As far as having people around went, they were lucky.
It was these things that she thought about when she made her way into the mine the next day. Her family was her utmost concern. They were why she was working so hard in the first place.
Luther worried about her, wondering whether or not the work was too much for her. A woman was meant to be delicate. She should be home tending to their sister and making certain they were comfortable. He insisted that there were a few men in the camp that would marry her. They’d give her a good life, they would take care of her and Willow. Jane would never settle for a life in this place. There were better things out there for them. She knew it.
Jane was far too proud to put their worries onto another person’s shoulders. She would continue her work in the mine. And she did so with such vigor that they hired her on for another week.
She stuck close to Simon still, saying that she wasn’t comfortable with the passages just yet. He saw through it. Jane had never been a good liar, and it was a miracle that no one had figured out that she was a woman yet. Simon tolerated her because he said that the “lad he had found was a terrible miner.”
Their tunnel had been dug the furthest so far. It was quick work for the two of them as she started to learn to handle the axe efficiently. Side by side, they spoke of their families. He had come from months of travel away just to be at this mine. A strong back and an intelligent mind was something that the mines needed. Simon had worked in another mine before and he had found one stone in his life.
She loved it when he told stories about that stone. His eyes would turn glassy as though he was looking at a lover’s body. Gaze fogged, he would whisper words of beauty. Suddenly the rugged miner that she was slowly starting to think of as hers would become a poet.
Once she had asked how he knew the words. Some of them she had never heard before. Simon was a man of many mysteries though. As much as he talked about his life before the mines, he never told stories of himself. Of other people, of things he had seen, but never anything about himself. How he knew the words that described the stones so beautifully, she could never wheedle out of him.
As time passed, she realized that the men in the mines were a family. They worked hard, they played hard, and they teased whenever they could. Working in darkness for the entire day would do that to a person.
Laughter was their medicine to fight against depression. She couldn’t count how many times she heard the teasing echoes from their tunnel.
It made the choice to work down here easier. Every day was a struggle to get up. There was even more of a struggle to push herself to walk to the mine. But once there, the other men made it easier. Even if they all knew that it wasn’t.
At the end of a long day she stumbled into the tent she called home. Jane had to be quiet so that she didn’t wake up her siblings. They were always asleep when she got back in the dark hours of the night.
But this time when she softly pulled aside the flap, she was greeted by both of her siblings sitting at the table. Luther’s face was pale and he was staring down at a paper in his hand that he was turning over and over again.
“Did you take the test today?”
He nodded in response.
“Are those the results?”
Another nod.
She dropped her jacket onto the floor and walked over to the table. If she couldn’t breathe, it was likely he couldn’t either. The test was electronic, graded immediately, and the machine printed out the results. Whether or not he had surpassed all that they had expected would give them the answer to what their lives were going to be like from now on.
For Luther, this was the answer to the mine. If he made it, he would have saved their entire family from this existence. If he didn’t, then he would be taking Jane’s place.
“Well are you going to open it?” She asked quietly, her gaze caught on the paper in his hands.
“We were waiting for you.”
It didn’t sound like her brother’s voice. It was a croak. A husky whisper that made her realize just how nervous he really was. His han
d tore at the paper gently. It was as foreign to them as wooden floors. Paper had no purpose here.
Jane could see that his hands were shaking.
His eyes scanned the words, reading as Jane and Willow could hardly do. His face went even whiter if that was even possible. His lips blended into the rest of his face, and for a second Jane leaned forward to catch him if he suddenly fainted.
“I made it.”
The words were so quiet Jane had to ask, “What?”
“I made it!”
The entire family jumped up then, shrieking and yelling at the top of the tent. He had made it. She had known he would make it. Luther was the smartest man she had ever known and he tried so hard. Their lives would change now. They could go to the City, he could live a happy life, Willow could go to school. Everything was different now. From now on, they wouldn’t be miners. They wouldn’t be the lowest of the low. And all because one boy dreamed hard enough.
“Willow,” she turned to her sister. “Go look how much money we have. We have to buy transport to the city!” She turned back towards her brother. “When?”
He held the paper up to his face again, scanning the words quickly. “As soon as possible. They want to get us placed immediately.”
They could leave now. They could leave this dismal place with memories of their mother dying in the corner and their father’s blood on the ground beneath their feet.
Willow dragged out the pouch that they kept their money, dumping its contents onto the table. Jane slung an arm around her brother’s shoulders, whispering her praise as they both watched the youngest count. It was a start to a better education for her. The more she practiced the less she would have to catch up.
“We’re short.”
She must have heard wrong. Jane blinked at her sister, shaking her head. “We can’t be short. I checked it just a week ago. You’re counting wrong.”
“I’m not bloody counting wrong!” Her sister gestured at the matching stacks. She was right. Jane counted herself then, wondering where the money had gone to. It had been here.
“Could it have been the water last week?” Luther asked quietly.
“Or the new blanket for me.” Willow was the next to remind Jane of their expenses.
“It could have been the meat I bought a few days ago too.” Jane ran her fingers through her hair, slumping back against her brother as the three of them stared down at the damned shining money that was their ticket out of this sand encrusted hell hole.
“Well.” She said quietly, the excitement of the moment suddenly dimming in light of this. They had to get to the city, and as quickly as possible. Luther could be replaced. He was just a charity case, and though he was a very smart young man, there were plenty of people who could take his place.
“One more day in the mine.” She said quietly. “I can fix this. Just one more day in the mine and we’ll have enough.”
Jane placed her hand on Luther’s shoulder to give the boy a squeeze. “We’ll do this. You’re going to the City. You’re going to save our family. I promise.”
CHAPTER THREE
“I THOUGHT YE said ye weren’t coming back?”
She let out a sigh, placing her helmet firmly on over her brother’s hat. “I hadn’t planned on it. But you know how it goes. The promise of riches untold and all that nonsense.”
The words didn’t have to be said with so much sarcasm. Simon didn’t deserve the brunt of her anger, but she was frustrated. Her body was showing signs of wear and tear after only 2 weeks down here. She was bruised, scraped from falling, and at the end of the day she was just tired. Jane wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep for a week. Even if she managed to do that, she wasn’t sure if sleep would ever be enough.
“Ah laddie, once you join the mines you never leave.”
“I think I’m starting to understand that.”
“It ain’t so bad. I’ve met a lot of good people down here.” He sniffed loudly as the rest of the crew gathered into the elevator.
“I’m just lucky they let me come back for another week.” She said quietly, her hand reaching out to hold onto the edge of the elevator. Even after a few weeks of riding down this blasted thing, she was still frightened every moment it moved. It felt unnatural.
Simon reached out to knock a fist against her helmet, leaving her teeth rattling. “Ah they weren’t gonna let a hard worker like ye slip away!”
She had a lot of energy that she put into her work, but Jane knew alone she would not have been able to keep up with the others. The combined effort of the two of them would always beat the others. If the Company knew that they weren’t working on their own, Jane likely would not have been rehired.
Finally they reached the bottom and she was quick to trail Simon as they started walking off.
“Simon?”
“Hmm?”
“Are the rumors about the goblins true?”
He stopped moving for a second, shocked into standing stock still to stare at her. “Now what ever got that idea in yer head, laddie?”
She shrugged. “I’ve heard the rumors. You’ve been down in these mines for years. Surely if anyone knows whether or not the rumors are true, you would.”
The look that crossed Simon’s face made her nervous. She hadn’t seen the big man get uncomfortable before. He was always so forthcoming with any questions she asked, and always jumped to tell a story. She had thought he would launch into some ridiculous tale like the rest of the people that talked about the goblins. She was certain that he would joke with her, laugh when he made her nervous, but in the end tell her that it was all a wife’s tale and that she shouldn’t be listening to rumor mongers.
But he didn’t. He didn’t say anything. Simon was uncharacteristically quiet as he swung his axe more firmly over his shoulder and started walking down the tunnels once again. They passed the time in silence. The only sounds were the heavy thuds of booted feet and the water dripping down the walls.
Finally they reached the tunnel they had been working on. They were last of their group to reach their destination. Simon stopped her then with a long meaty arm against the wall in front of her.
“Now I don’t know what ye’ve heard about the goblins, lad. And you shouldn’t be looking to spread rumors down here when men are already giving their lives for something as foolish as a rock.”
Jane shook her head. “I wasn’t trying to be rude. I just wanted to know if the stories were true. If there really was something to be nervous about down here.”
A shadow crossed in front of his eyes, a darkening that made her think that Simon knew something more than he was telling her. That look sent a shiver down her spine.
“Simon,” she asked quietly.
He shoved himself off the wall. The crunch as loose stone hit the ground made her wince as Simon walked away from her down the tunnel they had been working on. Whatever she had said, it had not been the right thing. The man that she had quickly started thinking of as a friend was silent. The tunnel itself was silent. A tomb for those who worked in it.
She was quick to follow. Jane knew better than to push him to talk if he didn’t want to. They quickly fell into the rhythm that the two of them had created in the past few weeks. The thumping of pick axes against the stone, the rattle of the helmets on their heads, the shifting of booted feet against smooth stone floor. These were the symphonies that the miners created in these tunnels. Every now and then they could heard the echoing of others shouting to keep in touch. No one wanted to get lost in the tunnels.
“Lad.”
It was the first word Simon had said in hours. She wasn’t sure whether it was time for them to stop for lunch, or whether it was her own stomach grumbling with nerves. “Aye?”
She was wiping sweat away from her brow when she turned and realized he was much closer to her than she thought he would be. Startled, she stepped backwards quickly. The stone wall pressed against her spine, biting against her flesh.
>
“I can’t tell you what lives below these stones. I ain’t never seen one up close.”
She paused for a moment, trying to understand what he had said.
“Are you trying to say that there is something in here with us? That the goblin rumors are real?”
“I can’t say whether it’s goblins.” He took his helmet off, running a hand over sweat slicked hair. “Like I said, I ain’t never got close enough.”
He gestured towards the rock lip they had left to eat upon. Jane realized in that moment how close she had become to this man. She had looked for him out of the mine, but Jane had no idea where he lived. There were so many people living outside that there was no way for her to find him. A woman could have convinced him to come and visit her but Simon didn’t know her as Jane. He knew her as Joseph, the young man who tried to work very hard but somehow did not bulk up like the rest of the men.
In another time, or another place, she could have seen them together. Simon was a good man, a kind man. He was likely older than her by quite a few years, and the sand sickness was going to kill him soon. However, they would have had a happy, if short, life together. He had a laugh that made her smile. And when she heard that booming chuckle from his chest, she saw the ghost of her father smiling back at her. If there had ever been a man she could have seen herself ending up with, it was Simon.
She grabbed her lunch out of the bag they had brought with them and perched on the stone. Simon sat on the floor in front of her, not seeming to mind that he was likely getting his pants wet by sitting on the damp floor.
He would talk when he felt like it. Curiosity had her burning to ask questions, but she had to control herself. Instead, she busied herself with unwrapping the food. Two sandwiches that would taste like dust were their lunch. It was the flasks of water that they wanted the most. Clear and cool, it would slide down their throats like the sweetest of balms.
“It was back in the Merrywether mine.”
She leaned down to hand him the flask of water, gesturing that he should drink before he talked.
His throat worked as he tilted back his head. Jane was struck by the strength in this man. Even though he was ill, he was still so strong. Powerful muscles threaded across his body from hard labor his entire life.