The Clave Story
(Pronounced clah-vay. They're percussion instruments.)
Written by Bruan Stuckwool
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Once upon a time there were 2 percussion companies that made instruments such as claves. Their claves in particular were very popular, because of the high quality and high demand. The owners of the two companies had been friends growing up, and would meet up from time to time, by chance or just because they felt like it. They would catch up, talk and laugh, and sometimes play scrabble. Now one time the two friends decided to meet at a really nice diner. Coincidentally, they had both accidentally brought one clave in their pocket. There was a kid at the diner that looks bored, so they gave him the 2 claves and he could make music with them.
It was a nice diner and the kid's parents managed the place, so the two company owners decided to come back every once in a while, bringing the two claves. The claves were different, but they complimented each other and made the music shine. By chance, a man at the diner dropped some business papers at the exact moment that the kid dropped a clave.
"By chance" meaning that any observer might have felt a bit of magic, combined with some slight insanity and jugs and jugs of snapple, in the air.
But anyway, one of the two friends went to pick up the clave for the young boy and then help out the man who dropped the business papers. When he went to pick up the clave, there was a piece of paper underneath it with "merge" in large letters. This reminded the one friend/company owner that he was considering asking his friend to marge the two companies. Looking at the clave gave him a brief chuckle, and then figuring it was a sign, he asked his friend what their thoughts were about merging the companies. The friend found it to be a great idea, and then they started discussing what to do with their different claves. After doing some tests, it was discovered that the clave that had been dropped fell very hard. At the same time though, it was almost as if when the clave had fallen, something inside of it moved and enabled the fall to affect it.What had caused the clave to fall? Ironically it was making music that had caused the clave to fall, ultimately leading to the other clave, which having been made differently broke away the coating which the one friend used. The coating was what had let the clave ring when hit with another to make the music. The fallen clave now only seemed to ring and make the music shine when paired up with the other, right in that diner. It seems no one, even the clave magic that had caused the fall and the damage, could have known the damage would go this far. The companies were merging though, and it seemed that the clave that worked with the damaged one would not be manufactured anymore. It was quite possibly the only one that someone would be able to find anywhere near the diner. That being said, the clave after realizing what its magic had done, suddenly saw how hard he had fallen and couldn't handle it, so another wiff of magic blew it away, out of the diner and into the street. The kid took the clave that worked with it, and had to go home because the diner was closing for the night. The clave that had fallennow lies right off a path next to the street. It would never be able to make music again, unless the other clave's magic led the young kid to it. But the other clave would have no reason to do that, unless they had fallen too. But what are the chances? That fallen clave is out on the street right now, but with how good the music had been, it would still fall even if it could go back and avoid it. It was worth every second and every bit of fall damage so to speak.
Technically it could still be saved, but only one thing could save it and keep the music. Hoping for the best isn't worth it.
