The Mines
We opened with a leaf falling from a tree above onto some blades of grass dripping with dew. The background was a large grey clouded mass of stratosphere. A drop fell from the sky and landed upon a snail's head. It quickly regressed back into its shell before sliding down the leaf as more rain comes down, pushing the snail delicately below the grass as it begins to pour. As the snail went down, so too does the rainwater, falling further with a rush of earth onto a dimly lit lantern undisturbed by wind and insects. The crackled rocks and bent wooden planks hardly can sustain the ceiling above, and long lines of men in metal helmets stretched along the mine. Across their shoulders were pickaxes, bouncing up and down as they walk down the corridor, their boots clipping and clopping on the ground below. Water dripped from up above onto the dirt, its dripping coinciding with the rhythm of the boots upon the floor.
MINERS
Beneath the ground so deep,
Below the bloated mire
Here in the caverns we creep,
Seeing with metal fire.
Light the way
Light the path
Keep your ambition proper
All the while hack away to the calls of tin and copper
A pick struck upon the wall, strengthing the rhythm of the sounds of the water and the boots alike. Miners went across layers and layers of wooden bridges where more workers dug away at the walls of the mine. As the tune rose, an elevator at the end of the mining corridor dropped down, where more workers came down and the sheeted door slides open for them. In Sira Bawcock's hand dangled a cage covered by a blanket. In the other hand was a basket. Sira was emphasized as the group moved along the corridors, turning down another path towards a separate tunnel. The worker set down the basket on a rock, and the other miners gathered around, opening it to see a pasty. The miners all took a bit of the pasty for themselves, but left the crust behind.
MINERs
Mountain is as mountain does,
The ghosts it leaves behind
Leave a treat for those who pass
For those lost in the mine.
A drum beat slammed down with an explosive going off as more miners went further into the caverns as dust filled the air.
So, break rock and stone and deeper gone
Until your breath from you shall leave
Hold on to your grief
So long as we hear the canary's song
We all shall feel relieved.
Meanwhile, Sira hung up the cage on a metal hook and removed the woolen blanket. Inside a yellow canary sprung to life and began to flutter about. It whistled along to the music while Sira gave it some crumbs from the pasty, his hand dusty and thick with his working gloves. Sira brushed off some of the dust on his hand, then took a lantern from the wall, leading himself deeper into the mine. Every miner took a pick and began to slam it against the rock.
MINERS
Deeper! Colder!
Hold close your comrade
Find a pal and hold their shoulder
So, neither of you go mad
Occasionally, a worker pushing a minecart would come through, who then stopped to let the workers fill it with buckets of tin. The canary's song kept the workers going, and they occasionally looked back at the bird to make sure it's alright. They squinted at tin ore in the rock, then hacked it out with their pick before loading it into a bucket below them. Sira loaded up the minecart then pushed it to William with one foot. William caught it with both hands then shoved it back down towards James.
MINERS
Keep working till the power dies
Work until your lungs collapse
If you hear a ghostly cry
It's a momentary lapse
The minecarts were pushed onto the elevator and the iron gating was closed soon thereafter, followed by James pulling a lever on the side to send up the cart to the upper floors of the mine.
MINERS
So, hold on tight to the Canary's Song
Keep pushing on through
Don't think about what could go wrong
They're all depending on you
The miners continued their shanty, sweating from the work and wiping it off their brow before cutting apart more rocks. Their breath became shallow and they all kept looking back at the canary as it whistled and tweeted. The song pushed the miners through, keeping them determined through the heavy work and lighter air. Sira pulled out a family photo of a younger version of himself, young Tom, and Dana. He sighed and wiped off his brow with his handkerchief, then shoved it and the photograph back in his pocket, swallowing as he sweat harder and hacked away at the stone. William recreated this process and took out a picture of his sweetheart, Lizzie. James did the same, but dropped the photograph. It fluttered to the ground, revealing a picture of a man in swimwear for everyone to see. The miners stared judgingly at James as he picked it up and chuckled nervously.
MINERS
Hack away and wait for night
Tuck your children in tight
Love them dearly, you may find
You one day lose them to the mine
Hold on to Canary's Song
The sum of all our tears
If that cry were ever to stop
We'd succumb to all our fears
The miners continued to dig and hack and sing, only to stop when the canary stops playing along with the tune. The music completely slowly died, as all the miners turned towards the cage. As their eyes focused upon the bird, the canary's eyes were closed and its body was at the bottom of the container.
Instantly, there was a mad scramble to escape the tunnel. Miners pushed past one another and clambered up the wooden stairs leading to the path of the elevator. Sira tried to join them, but was knocked down onto the ground. He grimaces as he scrapes his arm against the rocks imbedded in the dirt floor. With a snarl, he climbed to a now open path. He ran up to the elevator, followed by three other miners. The elevator is filled to the brim.
"Is everyone in?" Sira called out to the group. Multiple miners replied with nods or words of affirmation. Eventually their eyes locked to the lever outside of the elevator in dread. Sira looked horrified, then eventually frowned, looking back at the younger workers behind him. William and James looked terrified, fearful for their lives. They were grown, but still children.
Sira stepped out of the elevator, his head lowered in sadness, but James grabbed his arm. He was a young man, but it was still an honor. Sira was brought back to the elevator into a hug from the fellow worker, before it soon turned into a group hug as the miners continued to reach around Sira, one last embrace. They chanted the song of the canary again.
MINERS
Take hand and remember what you hold most dear
The Canary and her dying song make take away what's dear
Old or young or dead
The mine won't think ahead.
SIRA
Hold me, I hear the Canary's Fall
The song will play no more
A toxic cloud does haunt these halls
Go see your families I implore
They continued to sing as Sira stepped out again, finally breaking the embrace. He closed the iron gating door, and pulled the lever, a song of loss, of mourning, a song of partnership. The elevator goes up and out of view. Sira watched it go up, then sat down by the door. He took out his family photograph, and watched it as he slowly lost his breath, crying as he nears his last breath.
SIRA
I hear you Canary Song,
So, let my music die…
Regardless if I've done you wrong
I know I need your cry
MINERS
Farewell Canary Song
The end has come to last
Ghosts of stone seal my fate
As the inevitable comes to pass…
Hours later, workers wearing white gas masks came down from a light above on cables and ropes, and reach for Sira to shake him, only for him to fall back limp with the photograph still in hand. They took him by the hand and prepare to carry him above. The light consumed everything, until it fades into lightning over a grave.
A week later, Tom and Dana looked over a gravestone titled, "Sira Bawcock, beloved father and husband 1876-1926."
Dana set down two flowers while her son towers over her, holding her close. Rain poured down upon them. Her woolen coat was soaked, and her mittens mopped up tears and rain alike. Tom wore a collared shirt with a black tie that went down to the middle of his black jacket. Both wore wellies to trudge through the rain and mud. After much sobbing, Tom emotionlessly pulled Dana away, pulling her down the path towards the church over the village.
