“What is this?” I ask, gazing slack-jawed at the shimmering, iridescent patches covering the rock above us.
“The Corridor of Stars.” She says simply, letting go of my hand so that we can stop to consider the softly glowing patches.
They flicker and shimmer as the Keeper moves the torch in a sweeping arc above us, and I realise that the passage couldn’t have any other name than this.
“There’s a story, if you want to hear it. You should learn these things - you’re going to be here for a while.”
“I’m just passing through.”
“That’s what they all say,”
I awkwardly scuff the dust at my feet, then shrug.
“Go on then.”
She stands up straighter and turns towards me. As she speaks, her voice takes on a singsong quality, and I get the feeling that she has told this story many times before.












“Do you believe that?”
“Doesn’t matter if I believe it or not. It is what it is.”

“The first settlers here tried to bring the night sky with them; it was a part of their culture and they knew they would miss it dearly under the ground. So, they set about thinking of how to take it down into the mine with them, to ensure that it was not lost to them forever. However, when they tried to pull the stars down from the sky and take them into the depths of the mine, they found that the stars were still bound to their counterparts Above. This meant that the stars were unable to venture far into dark with them, and stuck themselves instead to the ceiling by the entrance. Over time, the stars took on new forms in the mine – they slowly dissolved into the rock, and still remain here today in the form of stardust.”