Sally and Avery

Sally was visiting her best friend Avery. Avery only spoke Chloquiana, a language created by Chloe Schoo, and Sally was learning it. She wasn't great at it, but she tried her best.

"Ebo, Sally!" Avery called from the doorway as she saw Sally coming.

"Ebo, Avery! Ai amob sio casan!"

Avery had a beautiful house.

"Gasi! Ua mameb amob casana!"

Avery gestured for Sally to come in. She walked in, and sat down on the couch. Avery, smiling brightly, said,

"Sally, go nab?" Sally panicked. She couldn't remember how to respond.

"Uhhhh...nab...yes... Ai Nabgo???"

Avery looked at her confusedly.

"Nabago???" She was asking, "DO you want the food?" Because Sally seemed unsure.

Sally stared blankly.

"Nab." Food. That was all she could think to say.

"Ba aguan?"

Agua! That's water in Spanish! Sally thought. She's asking me if I want water!

"Aguanba! Muc!"

Avery smiled and grabbed some water.

"Nabgo?" There it was again. That question. How should Sally answer if she wanted food again? She was craving apples. Red ones.

"Umm...abem. Ai go abemo. Bos abem. Gubis abems."

Avery grabbed the apples. They spent the rest of the day talking...well, trying to.

Sally eventually learned more.

The end.

Sally sat at the table, browsing the menu, when she heard a very familiar voice.

"Sally!" The voice called. She turned to find Avery, her best friend, there waving at her. They could barely ever understand each other (Avery spoke Chloquiana) but they just...had a bond. A vibe. Avery sat down. She picked up a menu and glanced at it, then laid it down and sighed.

"Comen?" Sally asked. Then she realized...the menu is in English. It's an American restaurant. Avery doesn't know what it says. Sally knew she'd have to translate. Come on Sally, you can do this. She thought. "Avery," she said, pointing at the menu, "Gubis abems. Naboc abems. Go? Gubis abemogo? Go naboc abem?"

Avery lit up, realizing what Sally was doing for her.

"Ai go gubis abems! Seben abem!" Avery shouted happily.

Sally's eyes widened. SEVEN?! Avery wanted SEVEN red apples? What, did she not like yellow apples because those were also an option.

"Micba." Avery said.

Sally didn't know what that meant. She pulled up a photo of lemonade, and asked "Mic?" Avery shook her head. Then Sally remembered. MILK! she shouted in her brain. Pulling up a picture of milk, she said "Micba! Ba mic!" Avery nodded enthusiastically.

When the waiter came, Sally ordered for both of them. Avery was so content. She and Sally may have some communication barriers, but she could see that Sally truly was trying. She cared enough to try. That's how she knew their friendship was true. Sally still had lots to learn, but she was doing amazing and Avery would be patient and there for her every step of the way.

The end.

And now...for their origin story. How they met.

Sally was walking along in the park. Suddenly, she saw this girl struggling to carry all her books and apples. Sally rushed over to help her. The girl smiled at her, but didn't say anything. She sat down on a bench and started eating her apples, then offered one to Sally, by reaching out to her with an apple. Sally was hesitant, but she took it. The girl patted the spot next to her, inviting Sally to sit. Sally sat down. She didn't know much about this girl, or why she was so quiet, but she figured maybe she was just shy. Then, she spoke.

"Avery," she said. Sally raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" She said.

"Avery," the girl repeated, pointing at herself. Then she pointed at Sally.

"Ohhh." Sally thought. "She's saying her name is Avery. I think she wants to know my name."

"Sally," Sally said. Then, to make sure she wasn't crazy, she pointed at Avery and said "Avery?" In a questioning way.

Avery nodded. They shook hands. Then Avery spoke again.

"Ai amob abem."

Now Sally was really confused.

"I'm sorry, what? I don't understand." She looked apologetically at Avery. Avery, although she didn't understand the words Sally said, she could tell by her expression that she was confused. Avery sighed and got up and left. Sally was astonished. Has she said something wrong? She rose up and followed. "Avery! Wait up! Come back!" She said. After she caught up with her, she asked "Did I make you feel bad? What did I do wrong? I didn't mean to upset you. I only wanted to be friends."

Avery maintained a stoic expression. "Cociana." She said.

"Cociana..." Sally repeated in a whisper. She wasn't sure what anything Avery said meant. Then it hit her. Avery couldn't speak English. Sally tried to think of what language she was speaking, because it didn't sound familiar. She pointed at Avery's apples and said "Apple?"

Avery shook her head. "Abem."

Aha! Sally thought. She pulled out her phone and looked up "abem." The result was a language called "Chloquiana," a conlang created by Chloe that she started creating when she was only 13 years old. Sally looked up some basic phrases and then told Avery... "Ai amob abem." It meant, I love apples. Avery smiled in unbelief. She hugged Sally, and from that point on, they did everything together. They couldn't always speak to each other, but just being in each other's presence was enough to make them each feel loved. Sally tried to teach herself Chloquiana. It wasn't always easy, and she'd get confused from time to time. But all that mattered was she was trying. She was doing it all for Avery.

The end.

Sally and Avery eventually became Sabi and Ami.

Well what happened was...

Sally decided to go fully Chloquiana. She wanted more than anything to be able to understand Avery and not have to struggle through a language barrier. She knew she'd need to make it her identity.

She learned the language, became completely fluent, and adopted a Chloquiana name.

Avery's actual name was Abebi, but she always told people her name was Avery because it sounded natural to them. Upon learning that Sally changed to Sabi...Avery realized that she had never fully embraced her Chloquiana identity. She'd always felt ashamed of it. Sally changed her mindset. So she adopted a new identity, as a way of starting over and fully embracing the Chloquiana.

Now they're Ami and Sabi, and their adventures are just as wholesome as ever.

Sabi and Ami were strolling in the park. This wasn't just any park. It was the same park where they had met just a few years before.

Ami went over, sat down on the very same bench where they shared apples together, and began to cry happy tears. She was so grateful for Sabi.

"Sabi..." She began, through tears, "Ai amob."

Sabi stared in disbelief. "A...amob?"

"Amob" Ami nodded in affirmation.

Sabi began to cry too.

"Ai amob, Ami! Amob sio casan...sio nab...sio mameb...sio babag..." Sabi trailed off. "Ai ba nab."

"Comen nabgo?" Ami asked.

Sabi glanced up and smiled.

Ami didn't even need to be told. She reached into her bag, grabbed an apple, and handed it to Sabi.

Together, they sat on the bench, eating their apples, just like they did the first time.

Only this time, they weren't Avery and Sally, best friends who had a language barrier and were ashamed of who they were.

No, this time it was different. They were Ami and Sabi, still best friends, but without a language barrier. And most importantly...they embraced who they were whole-heartedly, Chloquiana and all.

Sabi invited Ami to her house. She was delighted to come and made sure to bring a lot of apples for them to snack on.

Sabi greeted her at the door.

"Ami!" She said, excitedly. "Ua mameb amob Ami! Ua babag Ami ginu."

That was true. Sabi's mom did love Ami, even though she couldn't understand her. And Sabi's dad did like Ami...but he didn't see her as often because of his job, so he didn't have the same bond Sabi's mom did.

Ami gasped. She had never been in Sabi's house.

"Ai amob ua casan!!!"

"Gasi," Sabi said. "Ai amob casana."

Ami came inside, and sat down. Sabi's mom came over to greet her.

"Ebo, Ami!" She said.

"Ebo!!!" Ami replied. Mrs. Sabi's Mom (that's 100% her real name, trust me) sat down next to Ami, and talked to her...well, tried to.

"One gubis-cubus banamgo?" She asked.

Ami acted shocked. So did Sabi. They both looked at each other weirdly.

"What?" Mrs. Sabi's Mom asked.

"You uh...you kinda asked...if she wanted...a PURPLE banana, Mom..." Sabi explained.

Mrs. Sabi's Mom went wide eyed.

"Oh..." she awkwardly chuckled. "Oops... Sally–I mean, Sabi...could you please translate? I meant to ask if she wants a green banana."

Sabi smiled. "Don't worry, Mom, I got you."

"Ami," Sabi said. "Go naboc-cubus banam?"

"Muc! Ginu banam! Gasi."

Mrs. Sabi's Mom handed Ami a banana, and in turn...Ami gave her an apple.

They snacked on bananas and apples the rest of the day, and Sabi helped to translate so Mrs. Sabi's Mom and Ami could have a conversation.

The end.

Gabe was walking around the apple orchard. He was hoping to find the farm that made grape jam, because he was running out.

He saw two girls struggling to hold all their apples. He decided to help them.

"Hello." He said. "Do you need some help?"

"That would be wonderful!" One of the girls replied. "Thank you!"

The other girl didn't talk much but looked grateful. Gabe helped carry the apples to the girls' cars.

"You two must REALLY love apples..." He observed. "You picked like 50 of them."

"Ohhhh yes." The girl replied, glancing at her friend. "We love them."

"Well, I guess I better get going. I gotta find the grape jam farm."

"...Grape Jam farm?"

"Yes. I love grapes."

"Wait, before you go, you should take one of our apples. Consider it a thank you gift for helping us. We really appreciate it...um, what's your name?"

"I'm Grape."

"...I'm sorry, WHAT?!"

"I'm Grape." He repeated.

"...Y–Your name is...Grape???"

"Well... actually it's Gabe. But in Chloquiana–"

"Wait...you know Chloquiana?!"

"Actually, yes, I do. I'm surprised you know what it is. Most people don't."

"Well, actually...me and my friend here are...quite familiar with it. Let me guess...your name is pronounced ɡɑbɛ in Chloquiana?"

"Yeah...how did you know?"

"I speak the language."

"No way! That's incredible! I speak it too! What's your name in Chloquiana?"

"I'm Sabi," she replied. "But I used to be Sally. It's a long story. And this..." She gestured, pointing to her friend, "...is Ami. But just like me...she used to be Abebi. She's been quiet because she ONLY knows Chloquiana. She's my best friend. I learned Chloquiana for her."

"That. Is. AWESOME! I never thought I'd meet someone else who speaks Chloquiana!"

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you learn? Heck, how did you even find out about the language?"

"I was researching conlangs. I was trying to teach myself Klingon and High Valyrian. And Esperanto. And I stumbled upon a book by some girl named Chloe. She wrote about how she wanted to make one of the easiest languages on earth and so she created a language she called Chloquiana. I decided to give it a shot, and...here we are."

Then, Gabe took the apple Sabi handed him earlier. Taking a bite, he said, "If you don't mind sharing...is there any particular reason you guys love apples so much?"

Sabi grinned widely. "Well, since you're wondering, it all started when..."

She went on to explain how she and Ami met, about how despite a language barrier, they bonded, and how the apple is significant to them because it reminds them of their friendship and first meeting. She also explained the adventures she had with Ami, when they were Sally and Avery/Abebi, and how they went on to become Sabi and Ami.

When she was done, "Grape" said...

"Wow...so you guys have a lot of history. That's... incredible...and so wholesome. So you guys just adopted new names to fully embrace your new Chloquiana identities?"

"Ami was ashamed of being a speaker of Chloquiana. She didn't feel at place with who she was. So she followed in my footsteps and adopted a new identity."

"Wow. I've often joked that my name is Grape, but...maybe I should make that my official name!"

Sabi chuckled. "Whatever you say, Grape."

Long story short, Grape went on to become good friends with Sabi and Ami.

And he did finally manage to get more grape jam.