An old ticket carries a father’s memories into a town meeting. The person carrying it also knows the weekly cost of travelling farther for groceries.
01Read the Arabic story
هَلْ تَتَحَوَّلُ السِّينَمَا الْقَدِيمَةُ إِلَى سُوقٍ؟
دَخَلْتُ قَاعَةَ الِاجْتِمَاعِ وَفِي حَقِيبَتِي تَذْكِرَةُ سِينَمَا قَدِيمَةٌ أَعْطَانِي إِيَّاهَا أَبِي. عَمِلَ فِي دَارِ الْعَرْضِ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً، وَأَرَادَ أَنْ أَتَحَدَّثَ عَنْهَا. كَانَتْ مُغْلَقَةً مُنْذُ ثَلَاثِ سَنَوَاتٍ، وَتَقْتَرِحُ مَالِكَتُهَا دَالِيَا تَحْوِيلَهَا إِلَى سُوقٍ كَبِيرَةٍ. لَمْ أَقُلْ لِأَبِي إِنَّنِي أَيَّدْتُ الْفِكْرَةَ حِينَ سَمِعْتُهَا؛ فَأَنَا أَحْمِلُ مُشْتَرَيَاتِي مِنْ حَيٍّ بَعِيدٍ كُلَّ أُسْبُوعٍ.
وَضَعَ رَجُلٌ مُسِنٌّ صُورَةً لِصَفٍّ مِنَ الْمُتَفَرِّجِينَ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ. قَالَ إِنَّ الْمَكَانَ كَانَ يَجْمَعُ أَهْلَ الْبَلْدَةِ، وَإِنَّ خَسَارَتَهُ لَيْسَتْ خَسَارَةَ مَبْنًى فَقَطْ. صَفَّقَ الْحَاضِرُونَ، لَكِنَّ امْرَأَةً بِجَانِبِي سَأَلَتْ عَمَّا يَجْمَعُهُمْ فِيهِ الْآنَ وَأَبْوَابُهُ مُغْلَقَةٌ. أَخْفَيْتُ التَّذْكِرَةَ بَيْنَ صَفَحَاتِ دَفْتَرِي، وَشَعَرْتُ أَنَّ التَّصْفِيقَ لَا يَكْشِفُ كُلَّ مَا نُفَكِّرُ فِيهِ.
عَرَضَتْ دَالِيَا رَسْمًا لِرُفُوفِ الْمَوَادِّ الْغِذَائِيَّةِ، وَتَحَدَّثَتْ عَنْ فُرَصِ عَمَلٍ جَدِيدَةٍ. سَأَلَ شَابٌّ عَنْ عَدَدِهَا وَسَاعَاتِهَا، فَقَالَتْ إِنَّ هَذِهِ التَّفَاصِيلَ لَمْ تُحَدَّدْ بَعْدُ. كُنْتُ أَرَى أَنَّ السُّوقَ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الْمَبْنَى الْفَارِغِ، لَكِنَّنِي لَمْ أَسْتَطِعْ عَدَّ الْوَظَائِفِ الْمُحْتَمَلَةِ وُعُودًا مَضْمُونَةً. كَتَبْتُ سُؤَالَ الشَّابِّ فِي دَفْتَرِي بِجَانِبِ ثَمَنِ رِحْلَةِ التَّسَوُّقِ الْأُسْبُوعِيَّةِ.
حِينَ جَاءَ دَوْرِي، أَخْرَجْتُ التَّذْكِرَةَ وَحَكَيْتُ عَنْ أَبِي، ثُمَّ شَرَحْتُ صُعُوبَةَ حَمْلِ الْأَكْيَاسِ مِنَ الْحَيِّ الْبَعِيدِ. اقْتَرَحَ شَخْصٌ تَخْصِيصَ غُرْفَةٍ لِعُرُوضِ الْأَفْلَامِ دَاخِلَ السُّوقِ. بَدَا الِاقْتِرَاحُ مُرْضِيًا لِلْجَمِيعِ، إِلَى أَنْ سَأَلَتْ دَالِيَا عَمَّنْ سَيَدْفَعُ تَكْلِفَتَهَا وَيُدِيرُهَا. لَمْ يَرْفَعْ أَحَدٌ يَدَهُ. قُلْتُ إِنَّنَا نَحْتَاجُ إِلَى حِسَابٍ وَاضِحٍ قَبْلَ تَسْمِيَتِهِ حَلًّا.
أَجَّلَتْ دَالِيَا تَوْقِيعَ عَقْدِ الْإِيجَارِ أُسْبُوعًا لِمُرَاجَعَةِ الْأَرْقَامِ، دُونَ وَعْدٍ بِإِعَادَةِ السِّينَمَا. فِي الْبَيْتِ، سَأَلَنِي أَبِي إِنْ كُنْتُ قَدْ دَافَعْتُ عَنْ مَكَانِهِ. أَرَيْتُهُ الدَّفْتَرَ، وَقَرَأْتُ لَهُ مَا قُلْتُهُ. صَمَتَ طَوِيلًا، ثُمَّ أَعَادَ التَّذْكِرَةَ إِلَى الصَّفْحَةِ الَّتِي تَحْمِلُ الْحِسَابَاتِ. لَمْ نَتَّفِقْ عَلَى مُسْتَقْبَلِ الْمَبْنَى، وَبَقِيَتْ تِلْكَ الصَّفْحَةُ مَفْتُوحَةً بَيْنَنَا عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ.
Show English translationHide English translation
I entered the meeting hall with an old cinema ticket in my bag that my father had given me. He had worked at the cinema for twenty years and wanted me to speak about it. It had been closed for three years, and its owner, Dalia, was proposing to turn it into a supermarket. I had not told my father that I supported the idea when I heard it: I carry my shopping from a distant neighbourhood every week.
An elderly man placed a photograph of a row of cinema-goers on the table. He said the place had brought the townspeople together and that losing it meant more than losing a building. Those present applauded, but a woman beside me asked what brought them together there now, with its doors closed. I hid the ticket between the pages of my notebook and felt that applause did not reveal everything we were thinking.
Dalia showed a drawing of grocery shelves and spoke about new jobs. A young man asked about their number and hours, and she said those details had not yet been decided. I thought the supermarket was better than an empty building, but I could not count possible jobs as guaranteed promises. I wrote the young man’s question in my notebook beside the cost of my weekly shopping trip.
When my turn came, I took out the ticket and spoke about my father, then explained the difficulty of carrying bags from the distant neighbourhood. Someone suggested setting aside a room for film screenings inside the supermarket. The proposal seemed to satisfy everyone until Dalia asked who would pay for it and run it. Nobody raised a hand. I said we needed clear calculations before calling it a solution.
Dalia postponed signing the lease for a week to review the figures, without promising to bring back the cinema. At home, my father asked whether I had defended his place. I showed him the notebook and read him what I had said. He was silent for a long time, then returned the ticket to the page containing the calculations. We had not agreed on the building’s future, and that page remained open between us on the table.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| دَارِ الْعَرْضِ | the cinema |
| تَحْوِيلَهَا | turning it into something else |
| الْمُتَفَرِّجِينَ | the spectators |
| صَفَّقَ | applauded |
| فُرَصِ عَمَلٍ | job opportunities |
| الْمُحْتَمَلَةِ | possible |
| مُرْضِيًا | satisfactory |
| تَخْصِيصَ | setting aside |
| عَقْدِ الْإِيجَارِ | the lease |
| الْحِسَابَاتِ | the calculations |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer per question. Use the Arabic text to distinguish facts, motives and supported inferences. Open the English support when needed.
What to remember
- A shared memory and a practical everyday need can matter to the same person; applause does not reveal every reservation.
- Possible jobs and an appealing compromise still need details, funding and responsibility before they become reliable commitments.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Arabic Comparatives: Bigger Than and Better Than
أَنَّ السُّوقَ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الْمَبْنَى الْفَارِغِ
Compare the proposed supermarket with the empty building using afdal with min.
Lam in Arabic: How to Say “Did Not”
لَمْ يَرْفَعْ أَحَدٌ يَدَهُ
Follow lam with a jussive verb when no one volunteers for responsibility.
