Into the Unknown

In the dead of winter when the cold wept and the air briskly hit against your cheek, there was a warmth about Sunshine Mine. This is the same gloomy mine that the local townsfolk warned you about. They begged you tragically to disregard the deafening shrieks and wails of lure toward the old colliery. Many years had passed since the last courageous soul set foot in that dreadful place. Everyone had their own folklore about what went on deep inside. Some were true and some were just mere legends. There once was a tale of an awful curse that would fall upon anyone who dared to block off the entrance.

She cut off where she was reading to look eerily at the daunting black hole that was the entrance to the mine that she had been so heavily discouraged against, but something itched at her to enter. She wiped away the sweat that quivered from her brow as echoes of temptation lingered. She grasped the pamphlet tightly, debating on if she should continue to read the mysterious folklore or dare to see if there was some truth behind it. Suddenly a very bright and diverse colored gecko crawled on her dust covered boots. She looked down at the small spotted reptile with a slight grin and asked it, “who might you be?” Its colors glistened in the sun revealing the full spectrum of the color wheel.

The gecko smiled back at her and winked. She gasped as the gecko instantaneously ran off and a deep, dark voice whispered, “follow him.” Before she knew it her feet were running after the small creature. For what seemed like mere steps, she had realized that there was nothing in sight. He disappeared into some bushes that appeared to be miles away from the mine. Not knowing where she was, she decided to divide the foliage to see where the adventurous fellow had led her to. As she pulled back the leaves and branches of the dry bush, there laid the gecko on a little black notebook.

It was beaten and worn, but sturdy and tough. Having the color of onyx with a shade of coal, it laid mercifully. The notebook was entangled in the dry, cracked ground with the reptile’s tail intertwined around the elastic band that held the little black book together. She abruptly went into a twisted daze and all she could hear was the angelic call of the book. A yearning fell upon her, one like she had never felt before.

She bent over to pick up the book and the gecko crawled up her hand and onto her shoulder. Her fingers traced over the woven texture of the old book. Her hand trembled as she pulled open the front cover of the sturdy black material, revealing a name. She recognized that unique name, and it was the one and only Sunshine Mine. How could two simple words have such a powerful attraction over a human being? Despite the compelling argument of the pamphlet, her feet began to run back toward the very place others have not yet returned from.

She snapped out of the hypnotic trance and became self aware of her surroundings once again. Her tired feet had delivered her to the unsettling entrance of the mine. She surveyed everything as her eyes started to adjust to the darkness of the space in front of her. It seemed so limitless and hollow, everything echoed and returned to her with a whine. She could see a single polished track at her feet and the little reptile jumped onto the metal. As he ran, a cool blue trail of his footprints were left behind, illuminating like small fires of neon blue stars. She started to follow the pattern of stars and noticed the light burned so bright from his tracks that it cast dancing shadows on the rocky walls around her. As she focused on the beauty of the silhouettes, she hadn’t realized that there was no longer any sunshine.

She started to panic as she had come to the realization that she was irrevocably engulfed in darkness. There was a certain tranquility as her eyes wandered back to her newfound guardian as he led the way toward an unknown destination. Although she did not know where she was headed or if she would ever return to the outside world, she confidently continued her journey into the unknown. Along the way she noticed ancient bones that watched eerily as she passed their decrepit remains. There was a crevice in the rock just wide enough for her to wedge through, which allowed her to enter a secluded room. After she regained her balance, the small creature sat on top of a gold encrusted chest. His fluorescent footprints lit up the entire room, to reveal the true beauty of the hidden treasure.

She was only a few more steps away to find out why the book had told her to come to this awful place of empty sorrow. As she opened the chest she noticed that there was an envelope on top of the lockbox. She pulled a thin piece of parchment out of the manila colored casing and it read, Congratulations, Mathias. Not able to fathom why her name was on the parchment she shoved it inside of her pocket, and broke open the lockbox with a rock that she found nearby to see what fate had left for her. When she hit the lockbox with the grimy rock it flung open, and there laid $20,000 worth of cash inside. She had never seen that amount of money before and the immense feeling of exhilaration took over. She didn’t waste any time as she emptied the lockbox into her backpack.

Mathias followed her guardian’s tiny footprints as they irradiated the way back to the entrance of the mine. It took her some time to realize that the author of the pamphlet left out the part about the treasure so that no other unfortunate soul would be struck with greed and would want to journey within to collect the glorious wealth, only to hear the bewitched lure of the mine, and be lost forever. As time passed, she felt the intoxicated call of the book as it longed to be opened. Mathias pulled out the little black book to see why it had begun to let out its gratified song, for it to only reveal another unique location on the second page. CandleWood.