Mining for Diamonds

My son Toby and I have been digging for diamond ore.

It lies deep- very deep, secretly embedded in the depths of the digital world; you won't come across any in those upper layers Minecraft’s green surface. Finding any at all requires some heavy mining- down many, many levels past the dirt, the cobblestone, the granite. Beyond the deposits of coal and clusters of redstone. I even passed up some gold ore to get to it. When I had finally made it into the bowels of the underworld, it still took a lot of work and dumb luck with my simulated iron pickaxe to reach some of those rare grey cubes glittering with nuggets of sky blue diamond ore. I get there, mark the site, and notify Toby about my discovery. He had tasked me with finding diamond ore for a special purpose. He joins me sublevel and assists in the harvest to bring the bounty to his wizard's crafting table. He can then create all kinds of special implements endowed with magical spells.

Every Wednesday, we meet online in this  private Minecraft world. For weeks now we have been creating a homestead complete with main house, barn, gardens, and armory worthy of the most esteemed medieval royalty, created from our mines and with our minds. We build by day and defend by night (when the zombies, creepers, and endermen come out to attack us). We share garden tools, mining tools, and weapons. We raise cattle and chickens. Our physical  bodies sit in front of our laptops, in different houses, miles apart, while our avatars come together for this digital adventure. The Minecraft software graphics fill the screen and we speak to each other in real time using the Discord platform.

Four years ago, I lost my youngest son; I lost all of my children. I was in a dark place- newly sober, blind, crawling around a dungeon of my own creation with only my sense of touch to find my way out. As time went on and I grew in my program I saw sparkles; glimmers of light began to appear before my eyes, and I followed them. I soon recognized that the only permissable path to reconnect with my children was through the internet. This was their preference. It started with emails, which, for two of the three, is where it remains to this day. With my third, we found our meeting spot in online gaming. Now we talk to each other; we actually hear each others' voices, once a week. We speak only of the game- no discussion of our relationship, life or future, or serious topic of any kind; only of building, mining, and defending what we create. 

I found my shimmering building blocks, and Toby and I  are creating something magical. And I feel blessed with the wealth of a thousand tons of diamond ore. My son. My Toby.