Ten minutes of writing after breakfast seems like a modest goal. Over a year, the pages become a collection the narrator can share with neighbours.
01Read the Arabic story
الْهَدَفُ الصَّغِيرُ الَّذِي غَيَّرَ عَامِي
فِي بِدَايَةِ الْعَامِ، كَتَبْتُ قَائِمَةً طَوِيلَةً بِالْأَشْيَاءِ الَّتِي أُرِيدُ تَغْيِيرَهَا. نَظَرْتُ إِلَيْهَا، ثُمَّ أَغْلَقْتُ الدَّفْتَرَ لِأَنَّهَا بَدَتْ صَعْبَةً جِدًّا. فِي الصَّبَاحِ التَّالِي، اخْتَرْتُ هَدَفًا وَاحِدًا: أَنْ أَكْتُبَ عَشْرَ دَقَائِقَ بَعْدَ الْفُطُورِ. وَضَعْتُ قَلَمًا وَدَفْتَرًا صَغِيرًا بِجَانِبِ كُوبِي، وَبَدَأْتُ بِوَصْفِ الطَّرِيقِ مِنْ بَيْتِي إِلَى عَمَلِي.
فِي الْأَيَّامِ الْأُولَى، كَتَبْتُ عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ بَسِيطَةٍ: رَائِحَةِ الْخُبْزِ، وَصَوْتِ الْمَطَرِ، وَشَجَرَةٍ قُرْبَ الْمَحَطَّةِ. لَمْ أَكُنْ رَاضِيًا عَنْ كُلِّ جُمْلَةٍ، لَكِنَّنِي وَضَعْتُ عَلَامَةً عَلَى التَّقْوِيمِ بَعْدَ كُلِّ جَلْسَةٍ. خِلَالَ أُسْبُوعٍ مُزْدَحِمٍ، تَوَقَّفْتُ ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ. كِدْتُ أَتْرُكُ الْهَدَفَ كُلَّهُ، ثُمَّ قَرَّرْتُ أَنْ أَعُودَ فِي الصَّبَاحِ دُونَ مُحَاوَلَةِ تَعْوِيضِ كُلِّ مَا فَاتَنِي.
بَعْدَ أَشْهُرٍ، امْتَلَأَ الدَّفْتَرُ بِذِكْرَيَاتٍ عَنِ الْحَيِّ. قَرَأْتُ بَعْضَهَا لِأُخْتِي، فَتَوَقَّفَتْ عِنْدَ وَصْفِ الْمَخْبَزِ الْقَدِيمِ وَحَكَتْ لِي ذِكْرَى مُشَابِهَةً. اقْتَرَحَتْ أَنْ أُرْسِلَ بَعْضَ الصَّفَحَاتِ إِلَى مَكْتَبَةِ الْحَيِّ، الَّتِي كَانَتْ تَجْمَعُ ذِكْرَيَاتِ السُّكَّانِ. اخْتَرْتُ ثَلَاثَ قِطَعٍ قَصِيرَةٍ، وَرَاجَعْتُهَا عِدَّةَ مَرَّاتٍ قَبْلَ أَنْ أُرْسِلَهَا إِلَى الْمَسْؤُولَةِ.
وَصَلَنِي رَدٌّ بَعْدَ أُسْبُوعَيْنِ. دَعَتْنِي الْمَسْؤُولَةُ لِقِرَاءَةِ قِطْعَةٍ فِي اللِّقَاءِ الشَّهْرِيِّ لِلْمَكْتَبَةِ. لَمْ أَتَوَقَّعْ هَذِهِ الدَّعْوَةَ، وَخِفْتُ مِنَ الْقِرَاءَةِ أَمَامَ الْجُمْهُورِ. تَدَرَّبْتُ مَعَ أُخْتِي، وَوَضَعْتُ عَلَامَاتٍ حَيْثُ أَحْتَاجُ إِلَى التَّوَقُّفِ. فِي اللِّقَاءِ، ارْتَجَفَ صَوْتِي أَوَّلًا، ثُمَّ رَأَيْتُ امْرَأَةً تَبْتَسِمُ عِنْدَ سَمَاعِ اسْمِ الْمَخْبَزِ، فَأَكْمَلْتُ الْقِرَاءَةَ.
فِي آخِرِ الْعَامِ، وَضَعْتُ الدَّعْوَةَ بَيْنَ صَفَحَاتِ الدَّفْتَرِ. بَقِيَتْ أَيَّامٌ بِلَا عَلَامَاتٍ عَلَى التَّقْوِيمِ، وَبَقِيَتْ جُمَلٌ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَى تَحْسِينٍ. لَكِنَّنِي حِينَ جَلَسْتُ بَعْدَ الْفُطُورِ، فَتَحْتُ صَفْحَةً جَدِيدَةً بِسُهُولَةٍ. كَتَبْتُ عَنِ امْرَأَةٍ تَذَكَّرَتْ مَخْبَزًا مِثْلِي. لَمْ يَتَغَيَّرْ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ فِي حَيَاتِي، لَكِنَّ عَشْرَ دَقَائِقَ فَتَحَتْ بَابًا لَمْ أَكُنْ أَرَاهُ.
Show English translationHide English translation
At the beginning of the year, I wrote a long list of things I wanted to change. I looked at it, then closed the notebook because it seemed very difficult. The next morning, I chose one goal: to write for ten minutes after breakfast. I put a pencil and a small notebook beside my cup and began by describing the route from home to work.
In the first few days, I wrote about simple things: the smell of bread, the sound of rain and a tree near the station. I was not satisfied with every sentence, but I marked the calendar after each session. During a busy week, I stopped for three days. I nearly abandoned the whole goal, then decided to return the next morning without trying to make up everything I had missed.
After several months, the notebook was full of memories of the neighbourhood. I read some to my sister. She paused at the description of the old bakery and told me a similar memory. She suggested sending some pages to the neighbourhood library, which was collecting residents’ memories. I chose three short pieces and revised them several times before sending them to the coordinator.
A reply arrived two weeks later. The coordinator invited me to read a piece at the library’s monthly gathering. I had not expected this invitation and was afraid of reading before an audience. I practised with my sister and added marks where I needed to pause. At the gathering, my voice trembled at first. Then I saw a woman smile when she heard the bakery’s name, and I continued reading.
At the end of the year, I placed the invitation between the notebook’s pages. There were still unmarked days on the calendar and sentences that needed improvement. But when I sat down after breakfast, I opened a new page with ease. I wrote about a woman who remembered a bakery as I did. Not everything in my life had changed, but ten minutes had opened a door I had not seen before.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| هَدَفًا وَاحِدًا | one goal |
| عَشْرَ دَقَائِقَ | ten minutes |
| رَاضِيًا | satisfied |
| التَّقْوِيمِ | the calendar |
| تَعْوِيضِ | making up for |
| بِذِكْرَيَاتٍ | with memories |
| ثَلَاثَ قِطَعٍ قَصِيرَةٍ | three short pieces |
| اللِّقَاءِ الشَّهْرِيِّ | the monthly gathering |
| ارْتَجَفَ صَوْتِي | my voice trembled |
| تَحْسِينٍ | improvement |
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
- The narrator resumes after missed days instead of treating an interruption as the end of the goal.
- The final page shows increased confidence alongside unfinished work and room for improvement.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Lam in Arabic: How to Say “Did Not”
لَمْ أَتَوَقَّعْ هَذِهِ الدَّعْوَةَ
Notice how lam with a jussive verb expresses the narrator’s surprise about the invitation.
What I Did Yesterday in Arabic: 6 Simple Past-Tense Sentences
كَتَبْتُ قَائِمَةً طَوِيلَةً
Follow completed first-person actions as the narrator looks back over the year.
