The sound of a canary is always welcome in a mine. It's when it falls silent that people start to worry.
Down in the mines the walls start to close in on you. As you dig away at the rock, in the back of your mind one thought is constantly there. It will never go away, not until the rock ceases to press against you.
That thought is both unthinkable and always thought of... What if that canary falls silent?
You pause at intervals between swings of your pick axe, listening. You pray the canary will keep chirping. If it stops... Well...
You have to obey certain rules, this job is what keeps your family fed. It's what makes working miles underground, the earth closing in on you, worth it.
However there's one thing you will drop everything for.
You have your own rules, if this canary falls silent for longer than a minute or two, theres no way you are going to carry on working. You are going to try and get yourself out of there as fast as you possibly can.
For you and your family. You will run.
And later suffer the consequences, because in that moment there is only one thing that matters, your unwillingness to die.
You stop working... And listen with all your might. The canary has not called for two minutes (you have been counting in your head). Straining your ears, you wait a second longer before you run for your life. Your breath is now the only sound, yours and the rest of the miners uneven gasps who were working beside you. They have all stopped at their work because they too have been counting. You and the rest of the miners get ready. It's every man for himself in this situation, you know from experience...
"Cheep.....cheep"
You breath in a sigh of relief, looking to the blackened faces of the people beside you. Sharing your relief with them.
You think about how you will probably have another scare in the next few minutes. Despite this you begin digging. You try to fill your thoughts with your family at home, not the unthinkable.
