Magnesium

12
Mg
[Ne]3s2

Magnesium

Premise for novella
Europium Gem Mine

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

“Let’s be careful, we don’t want to ignite this mine.” Tommy’s straight, sandy blond hair framed his handsome, green-eyed face.

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

“I thought you liked me on my knees.” Teasing, Victoria winked. 

“You owe me a back rub later for making me hunch over like Quasimodo to get down here.” Tommy smiled suggestively at Victoria, recalling 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—in a 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 into a large cavern. Victoria stood upright and brushed the debris off her toned limbs.

Scaffolding and ladders went from the floor to the fifty-foot ceiling. Someone mined this cave, recently.
Tommy shined his flashlight along the cavern walls. Light bounced off the cave’s treasure with tiny prisms.

“Are those?” Victoria asked.

“Diamonds,” Tommy finished her sentence. He retrieved a small chisel from his excavation kit and tapped 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 this cavern alone must be worth a billion Euros,” Victoria said with an incredulous tone.

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

“I wonder who owns all of this. They must be hoarding them 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 handed Victoria his iPhone which displayed Google maps.

“We’re right below Disneyland Paris!”

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

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

“Oh, crap! Who are these men? They look like… No, they can’t be.” Tommy’s chiseled jaw dropped to the floor, along with Victoria’s.

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

“They’re dwarfs,” Tommy said, without taking his eyes off the unique workers before him.

“This explains the short height of the mining tunnels and scaffolding. They look just like…”

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

The dutiful dwarfs began their shift. They grabbed their pickaxes to mine diamonds and precious gems out of the rocks beneath Disneyland Paris. 
They sang the familiar song in unison “Hi ho….”

Author’s note—Walter Elias Disney misspelled ‘dwarves’ with ‘dwarfs.’ When it was brought to his attention, he decided not to change it. In keeping with Walt’s wishes, I’m spelling ‘dwarfs’ his way.