ρυяε sωεεт ιмαgιηαтιση

Rock Candy Mine

The elevator kept descending, bringing us deeper and deeper below the ground level of the factory. I grew anxious at the thought of where he was taking me this time.

Eventually, the elevator slowed, and we made our way out of the elevator. He grinned at me, then clapped his hands twice, the lights flooding on.

"Where are we?" I asked him in wonder, looking around.

He replied excitedly, "The Rock Candy Mine. We are going to descend ten thousand feet below the earth in my personal rock mine!"

"Ten thousand?" I gasped, making him giggle at my disbelief.

"Darn right, my dear!" he cheered, taking my hand. He pulled me along, running down a long stony hallway. "Come on! No time to waste!"

I laughed and ran along side him, letting go of his hand as we raced down the dark path. We ventured through the blackening tunnel, leaving the only source of light behind us. We kept racing down, laughing a little here and there along the way. I glanced behind me and could not find a single light in sight.

"Willy, please tell me that we aren't going to be—"

I scrambled to a stop, nearly flying off the edge of a cliff into a nearly bottomless cavern. Willy firmly grabbed hold of my arm, yanking me back into his grasp. Shaken, I trembled a little with adrenaline, my breathing ragged.

"Mary, are you alright?" he asked me, stroking my hair out of my face. I nodded and swallowed the lump of fear down, feeling my stomach drop. I turned to the edge again, and peered down into the cavern.

"'Ten thousand feet deep' you said?" I asked. He hummed in confirmation, which made me shift my focus to him. He nodded to me and smirked.

He then took my hand and we walked the pathway down into the cavern. Willy explained to me, "This cavern, this mine, is one of the largest mines in the whole world."

I nodded to his explanation, continuing to listen as I walk hand-in-hand with the chocolatier. "At first, I had to really think about how I could make my rock candy different from all of the other candy makers' rocky sweets. I began thinking about the whole 'rock' part of it, instead of just the 'candy' part, and the idea hit me. Why not mine for your own rock candies? The construction for this room was still undergoing being dug out by the time I opened my new factory. But once we had a ten-thousand foot by ten-thousand foot by ten-thousand foot cavern, I began creating this rock-like crystal that grew over time. Within a mere hour, you could have a crystal candy the size of a toffee chew! Isn't that neat?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but he was too excited to wait for one. I giggled to myself as he stated, "The one problem was to make sure certain flavors didn't grow with other flavors, like the Green Apple Sapples with the Marshmallow Swallows. The taste would be terrible!"

I nodded, and asked, "Were there some flavors you allowed to mix together naturally?"

"Of course! I let the cherry flavor mix with the lime flavor to make Cherry Limeberry Geodes that many have loved over the years. Although, I myself have never been as big a fan for the mixture as I have never been as big a fan for the mixture as I have been for the Butterscotch Mint-Gin Crystallin. That's one of the coolest, sweetest mixes I feel I've made for this sort of candy." He flashed me a grin, to which I smiled in return.

"It sounds delicious. You've got to let me try some!" I exclaimed. He stopped our slow stride and let go of my hand.

"Close your eyes real quick for a tick," he murmured with a hint of excitement. I gave him a curious look before obeying.

I heard him clap his hands twice, and a small glow emanated from before my eyelids. Willy cheered, "Now open!"

I opened my eyes, my breath getting caught in my throat as I was stricken with the cavern's beautiful glow. The crystals all gave off a colorful hue, each color I believed to be associated with its flavor.