💎 El Pasillo

A Memento Insight by @john for S3 E9 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer

This insight is from a Remarkist Memento.

Title: El Pasillo

Creator: @john

Event (Watch Party): S3 E9 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Event Date: 2022-09-20

Drop Date: 2022-09-21

Remarkist World: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Density: 300

Number of Editions: 21

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Raul had never seen anything like it, not in his 25 years working the mines. It wasn’t a large gem-just a bit bigger than his thumb. It had been growing alone in the rock wall, meters from any other crystals; perhaps that meant something. The two fissures running through its center were typical in an emerald this size, but these seemed to dance against the light from his helmet.

¡Dios mío!

He turned it over in his sweaty mitt, and un pasillo between the two bewitched him-a waltz of regret. It held him there for minutes. Comforting remorse.

He looked to see if anyone was watching, but his colleagues were gone. The shaft was empty. And from somewhere far in the caves was the laughter of Inca goldsmiths hammering their wares. Or was it their ancestors he was hearing?

The fissures in the emerald had finished their dance, and a swell of applause became the clinking of two dozen pick axes biting the earth. Workers filled the corridor again, and he shoved the crystal in his mouth. He’d never done anything like it, not in his 25 years working the mines.

Later, when the foreman blew his whistle, and the miners shuffled down the long, dusty hall, Raul was the tenth man searched at the entrance-a quick feel of his pockets, socks, and groin. The searcher never noticed the crusted blood on his lips nor the gash in his throat when he opened his mouth. He tossed his helmet and axe onto a pile and signed next to his name on the sheet. Then he made his way home with the emerald axe onto a pile and signed next to his name on the sheet. Then he made his way home with the emerald hidden safely in his belly.

The next day, Raul did not return to work-for the first time in 25 years. Nor was his name on the sign-in sheet. There was one less pick axe and helmet than usual. And no one seemed to notice nor care. It was as if Raul had never been there before-like his years of service were wiped clean. And at the end of some other corridor, in a place and time far from his regret, he was emerging anew.

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Remarkist: @john
Former actor 🎭 who played Brian Fuller on Gilmore Girls ☕️. Current writer🖋 of fictional worlds 🐉 working at the intersect of story 📖 & tech📱.
Twitter: @johncabrera
Instagram: @unboiled

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