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“Borrowed Strings”

Mississippi Delta, circa 1930

I wasn’t much good. Not yet. Folks told me to put it down, leave it be. Said I didn’t have it.

So I walked. Just me, the dark, and the sound of dirt crunching under my feet — all the way to where the two roads meet.

He was waiting. He didn’t smile. Just took the guitar and tuned it real slow — like he was waking something up.

Said I could play like I was born to do it. Said all it would cost was something I wouldn’t miss ’til later.

When he handed it back, the strings hummed like they already knew the tune.

And just like that, I did too.

SOLUTION: This story is a reference to the legendary blues musician Robert Johnson and the most famous myth surrounding his life — that he sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for extraordinary musical talent. The narrator is Robert Johnson, and the “two roads” refers to the famous crossroads legend. According to Delta folklore, Johnson met a mysterious figure (often said to be the Devil) at a rural crossroads — usually placed at Highways 61 and 49 in Clarksdale, Mississippi — and traded his soul to become a master of the blues. The line “all it would cost was something I wouldn’t miss ’til later” is a nod to that deal, and Johnson’s short, mysterious life adds weight to the myth. The title “Borrowed Strings” reflects both the guitar and the eerie idea that his talent was never fully his own.