Grime

Dark clouds of dust hung over the valley like a specter, causing everything to garner a thin film of fine black dust. Everything in the valley had the layer over it, even the small hunched figures which the eye could barely decipher in the cancerous fog. Only small bright bamboo hats could be seen from afar, sitting on top of these figures in the shadow like mushroom caps, moving about.

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Shuai Jie sat among the small hills of sharp jet black slack, shoving his hand into the black muck underneath, working to grasp onto stones at the bottom. As he fingered a pebble a whistle cut through the haze like a knife, startling him and causing him to drop the pebble. The alert indicated a five minute break. Shuai slapped his hand against his trousers, to get the tar from his hand. He reached into his overall pocket and grabbed a small crumpled pack of cigarettes. Smoking wasn’t allowed on the site anymore in an effort to promote good health and stability among the workers. Workers began huddling in small groups, talking in hushed tones almost as if not to disturb the gnarled beauty of the valley. Shuai walked to the group he normally stood with, usually he would stand, quietly listen to what the others spoke about, and once the whistle would sound, he would get back to work.

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“Did you hear what happened to Si Wang?” One of the men asked. Shuai looked in his direction, seeing only white eyes and a flash of teeth when he spoke. The question  caused a louder murmur than usual to radiate from the group.

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“I had heard that he fell over from exhaustion.”

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“No, he fell down a hill and hit his head.” Shuai was closest with Si Wang and his death had hit him especially hard, so he simply sat and listened. There was no need to go against his reputation, he knew what had happened. Another screech echoed through the darkness and wordlessly they all began to move back to their spots, close enough to feel unified, but far enough so speaking would be comfortable.

Once Shuai was back at his spot, his mind swirled with memories of Si Wang. They were certainly not close by Western standards, but he was the closest thing to a friend he had in many years. As the day wandered along, the sun began to go down and the rays would shine through the fog like a searchlight from above, reflecting on the delicate flakes that floated throughout the air. Shuai dug his arm farther down the hole, searching for the last of the black gold that determined his pay for the day. His arm began to feel numb, as it had before, so Shuai switched hands and continued grasping for nothing, but his arm continued to hurt, like his entire left side of his body was cramping. A deep pain shot through his arm to his chest, as if he was electrocuted. He felt paralyzed and unstable, causing his fall into the shallow water-filled pit. Underwater, he opened his eyes to see the murky water above and the sun’s arm reaching down towards his hole.

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The surface of the water looked like a mirror from below, swaying along with the disturbance to its tranquil opening. Shuai’s eyes felt like they were on fire, but once he closed them and true darkness clouded over. Lying only a few feet from the surface he felt a relieving numbness flow throughout his body, like he was laying down on a soft bed. His lungs relaxed and beautiful clear bubbles escaped from his mouth, dancing towards the surface. Polluted water rushed into his mouth, down his throat, and through his lungs, burning all it touched, however, the pain was far away, as if it took place in another life. Soft music began playing in his mind, like a mother singing their child to sleep, and Shuai’s entire body began to sink lower, so with one last contraction, his entire body relaxed, and his eyes glassed over. He gazed up at the sun.