An open window feels different from each desk. Three colleagues try one another’s seats to understand a disagreement that keeps interrupting their work.
01Read the Arabic story
نَافِذَةُ الْمَكْتَبِ الَّتِي لَمْ نَتَّفِقْ عَلَيْهَا
كَانَ مَكْتَبُنَا صَغِيرًا، وَفِيهِ نَافِذَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ تُطِلُّ عَلَى الْحَدِيقَةِ. كُلَّ صَبَاحٍ يَفْتَحُهَا سَمِيرٌ لِأَنَّهُ يَشْعُرُ بِالْحَرِّ، ثُمَّ تُغْلِقُهَا لَيْلَى لِأَنَّهَا تَشْعُرُ بِالْبَرْدِ. أَمَّا أَنَا فَكُنْتُ أَجْمَعُ أَوْرَاقِي الَّتِي تَسْقُطُ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ الْهَوَاءُ. تَكَرَّرَ الْخِلَافُ أُسْبُوعًا كَامِلًا، حَتَّى صَارَ الْحَدِيثُ عَنِ النَّافِذَةِ يُقَاطِعُ عَمَلَنَا أَكْثَرَ مِنَ الْهَاتِفِ.
فِي يَوْمِ الْخَمِيسِ، اِقْتَرَحْتُ أَنْ نَتْرُكَ أَمَاكِنَنَا وَنَجْلِسَ عَلَى كُلِّ كُرْسِيٍّ لِدَقِيقَتَيْنِ. اِكْتَشَفَ سَمِيرٌ أَنَّ الْهَوَاءَ يَصِلُ مُبَاشَرَةً إِلَى ظَهْرِ لَيْلَى. وَجَلَسَتْ هِيَ فِي مَكَانِهِ الْبَعِيدِ عَنِ النَّافِذَةِ، فَقَالَتْ إِنَّهُ أَدْفَأُ مِنْ مَكَانِهَا. عِنْدَئِذٍ فَهِمْنَا أَنَّنَا لَا نَشْعُرُ بِدَرَجَةِ الْحَرَارَةِ نَفْسِهَا، رَغْمَ أَنَّنَا نَعْمَلُ فِي غُرْفَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ.
عَرَضَ سَمِيرٌ أَنْ يَتَبَادَلَ الْمَكَانَ مَعَ لَيْلَى. سَأَلَتْهُ عَنِ الضَّوْضَاءِ الْقَرِيبَةِ مِنَ النَّافِذَةِ، فَقَالَ إِنَّهُ لَا يَسْمَعُ مِنْهَا إِلَّا أَصْوَاتَ الْعَصَافِيرِ. وَضَعْتُ أَوْرَاقِي فِي مَلَفٍّ مُغْلَقٍ، وَفَتَحْنَا النَّافِذَةَ قَلِيلًا بَدَلًا مِنْ فَتْحِهَا كُلِّيًّا. لَمْ نَشْتَرِ أَيَّ أَثَاثٍ جَدِيدٍ، وَلَمْ نَطْلُبْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ أَنْ يَتَحَمَّلَ الْبَرْدَ بِصَمْتٍ.
جَرَّبْنَا التَّرْتِيبَ الْجَدِيدَ حَتَّى نِهَايَةِ الْيَوْمِ. بَقِيَتْ أَوْرَاقِي فِي مَكَانِهَا، وَخَلَعَتْ لَيْلَى الْمِعْطَفَ الَّذِي كَانَتْ تَرْتَدِيهِ دَاخِلَ الْمَكْتَبِ. أَمَّا سَمِيرٌ فَكَانَ مُرْتَاحًا بِجَانِبِ النَّافِذَةِ. قَبْلَ مُغَادَرَةِ الْمَكْتَبِ، سَأَلْتُهُمَا إِنْ كَانَا يُرِيدَانِ تَغْيِيرَ شَيْءٍ. قَالَتْ لَيْلَى: «لِنُجَرِّبْ هَذَا التَّرْتِيبَ غَدًا أَيْضًا، فَقَدْ يَتَغَيَّرُ الْجَوُّ».
فِي الصَّبَاحِ التَّالِي، وَصَلَ سَمِيرٌ قَبْلَنَا وَجَلَسَ فِي مَكَانِهِ الْجَدِيدِ. عِنْدَمَا دَخَلْنَا، وَضَعَ يَدَهُ عَلَى مِقْبَضِ النَّافِذَةِ، ثُمَّ نَظَرَ إِلَيْنَا وَانْتَظَرَ. أَوْمَأْنَا بِالْمُوَافَقَةِ، فَفَتَحَهَا قَلِيلًا. بَدَأْنَا الْعَمَلَ دُونَ الْمُنَاقَشَةِ الْمُعْتَادَةِ. وَكَانَ أَوَّلُ سُؤَالٍ سَمِعْتُهُ ذَلِكَ الصَّبَاحَ عَنِ مَوْعِدِ اجْتِمَاعِنَا، لَا عَنْ إِغْلَاقِ النَّافِذَةِ.
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Our office was small and had one window overlooking the garden. Every morning Samir opened it because he felt hot, then Layla closed it because she felt cold. As for me, I gathered my papers, which fell on the floor whenever air came in. The disagreement continued for a whole week, until talking about the window interrupted our work more than the telephone did.
On Thursday, I suggested leaving our places and sitting in each chair for two minutes. Samir discovered that the air reached Layla’s back directly. She sat in his place, far from the window, and said that it was warmer than hers. Then we understood that we did not experience the same temperature, although we worked in one room.
Samir offered to exchange places with Layla. She asked him about noise near the window, and he said that he could hear only birds through it. I put my papers in a closed folder, and we opened the window a little instead of opening it fully. We bought no new furniture and did not ask anyone to endure the cold in silence.
We tried the new arrangement until the end of the day. My papers stayed in place, and Layla took off the coat that she had been wearing inside the office. Samir was comfortable next to the window. Before leaving the office, I asked them whether they wanted to change anything. Layla said, “Let’s try this arrangement tomorrow too, because the weather may change.”
The following morning, Samir arrived before us and sat in his new place. When we came in, he put his hand on the window handle, then looked at us and waited. We nodded our agreement, and he opened it a little. We began work without the usual discussion. The first question I heard that morning concerned the time of our meeting, not closing the window.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| تُطِلُّ | overlooks |
| الْخِلَافُ | the disagreement |
| يُقَاطِعُ | interrupts |
| مُبَاشَرَةً | directly |
| أَدْفَأُ | warmer |
| يَتَبَادَلَ الْمَكَانَ | exchange places |
| مَلَفٍّ مُغْلَقٍ | a closed folder |
| يَتَحَمَّلَ | endure; put up with |
| مِقْبَضِ النَّافِذَةِ | the window handle |
| أَوْمَأْنَا | we nodded |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Look back at the Arabic story when you need a clue. Open the English support if you need help understanding a question.
What to remember
- Different positions in one room can create different experiences; the colleagues test those experiences before choosing a solution.
- Samir’s final pause reveals a change in how he makes a decision that affects other people.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
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أَدْفَأُ مِنْ مَكَانِهَا
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لَمْ نَطْلُبْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ
Notice how lam negates a past action and gives the following verb a jussive ending.
