Kettle top

 Through the dim yellow light with our picks and shovels. Equipment to help us hold up and stabilize the cave. It was often a fight between the aggressive among us to who owned what.
Reminding us of old gold miners fighting over a tiny nugget.
Dust kicks up at my pick strike a few more centimeters deeper. Unconvering an ancient ocean fossil.
We stopped for a break, was it friday optimism or were we getting close to discovering what was inside the pit.

The specialist woman, twenty six year old Charlotte told the story.
"In the past much of this area we are standing on belonged to the Cretaceous era, we are hoping to find the remains of any marine animal, it's not just a pay day. For those of you working for the university you will suddenly have new credentials, your names will have weight."
 All of us hung on her words.

As we went back to digging with a fresh sense curiosity.
A guilty tickets for the lottery feeling.
That day we found nothing.
Leaving the site at 16pm as the sun was setting passing all of the attempts to dress the city in something it was not. The north such a piece of perfection unto itself. A reason suicide was popular, not the lack of vitamin D?

How can a sense of humor and boasting merge to be the socal proof of a man. Looking at the hired help, all unquestioning sports fanatics in their late twenties. Shit kickers who didn't care about reaching the find, simply there for their hourly rate or piece work.
"I can drink three bottles of whiskey." One said.
"I had to fight five men at once" Another.
It was like they were talking themselves up so they might survive a quiet evening at the local tavern.
I wouldn't join the crew at the bar on that weekend. I couldn't face the lonliness of my small thirty five meter apartment in Kiruna, I rode back down to the site and spend the afternoon and early night digging there. 

Yellow lantern light lighting up this part of the cave, resembling an old shed with hardened clay floors.
Each pick blast hardly scratching the surface. My body shuddering.
I head back home before ten as a few of the other diggers were leaving the local tavern.
"You've been digging again, you crazy old man!" They could see the gear I was carrying.
I never replied. The universe is different for the silent, for they just observe and let conclusions mature over time. Absent from the response. overtime the ear picks up small but audible tones of fear in their last syllables.

The one they called the gardener always boasting. The Broms, exquisite twins both with symmetrical beauty and sharp wits.
I got to the job again on monday unpacking my gear on the floor, the three of them approached me.
"what were you doing on saturday night? Did you really go to the dig by yourself?"
"Yeah I just want to make some progress so we can start studying this thing" The low volume of my voice had them lean in further, my tone was cordial yet assertive.

The gardener pointed to where I'd been working. "He's reached the top of the fossil, might have to bring in the pointing trowels" He said making my small progress into an opportunity to project his self loving charisma, he spoke as if teasing himself. Do they learn this from their fathers?

The broms twins Lynn and Leah congratulated me and dished out coffee to all of us. The rest of team would be here soon, so making a little more progress together deeper would hide the fact I didn't have a life.
By the end of the day it was obvious we were dealing with a crustacean identified and estimated to have lived ten million years to the Miocene, I was ecstatic. The gardener didn't look very impressed though.
with the exception of the twins their faces bitter as if losing a competition.

Gardener's accusing tone lost all charisma."All this work for some old crab not ten million years old, I thought you said this area was from the cretaceous." The Charlotte said nothing. 
The hired hands and I continued digging, the twins went to get renkott for an early dinner, Charlotte joined them. When they got back the hired hands were gone. It was just me.
I looked up smiling despite my stinging wrists and exhausted arms.
They asked in an accusatory tone "The dig is only ten million years old, why are you so happy?"
"This is everyones first dig is it not?" I questioned.
The girls admitted with anticipation.
"Why do you want to suddenly have the best dig on your first attempt?"
"Well so we can make names for ourselves" Charlotte said bluntly.

Something stirred in the twins, Lynn spoke up "You mean it's a good start."
I said nothing, ate my last mouthfull of reindeer meat and left.
My bicycle tyres appreciated the flat smooth roads of Kiruna. Life was sometimes like that.
A handful of grateful people might stop to observe and then delight such a reprieve from the rollercoaster life often is.

On my way home I got to the greatest gift of all, Kebnekaise the first light sprinklings of snow atop it.
I called it the couple because of the two separate peaks.
Darkness calmed me, I forgot the disappointment of this beautiful view disappearing.
Back to the small apartment to sleep off the compacted exhaustion.

The next morning I arrived, the twins had arrived before me. Looking dismayed.
Leah gave me the bad news "Charlotte and gardener have left to go work on another dig."
"They've officially signed off" Lynn added.
"Is this dig ours then?" I asked.
They nodded. 
"Any cowboys to dig out the periphery?"
"Yeah, but we are thinking of leaving too." Almost simultaneous.
"Lets give it two days, Charlotte and Gardener will spend a week just setting up." I used all my force to convince them.
Reluctantly the twins got to work as the few remaining hired hands began to arrive.
The work became more and more tedious the closer we got to the remains.
I knew the twins would blame me for wasting their time on a mediocre dig.
I decided to spare them and called the heritage board that afternoon to check the dig the following day.

I met the official early before the twins could arrive that wednesday morning.
Brush and trough in his hands, eyepiece attached to his head.
"So this is crustacean, dating back to the Miocene?" The official tagged
I nodded.
He got down on one knee and instructed me to crouch as well. we started brushing together. The twins came in bemused.
"What is going on?" Lynn asked
"We are analyzing the dig" I answered as the official kept brushing and adjusting his eye piece.
He brushed continuously for a good 30 minutes.

Stood up, adjusted his pants, took off his eye piece, laid down the brush and affirmed, "This find is not rare neither is it so ancient. However it is in incredible condition, this cave has provided protection. The museum will offer a high reward for this. You will be recieving commendations for this."

The twins beamed with excitement. 

"Shall we inform Charlotte and Gardener?" I tested, in my quiet voice.