A complaint about an exhibition table prompts a public defence. An earlier message makes a friend reconsider what loyalty requires.
01Read the Arabic story
حِينَ أَصْبَحْتُ طَرَفًا فِي خِلَافِ غَيْرِي
اتَّصَلَتْ بِي صَدِيقَتِي رِيمٌ قَبْلَ مَعْرِضِ الْحِرَفِ بِيَوْمَيْنِ، وَقَالَتْ إِنَّ هُدَى وَضَعَتْ طَاوِلَتَهَا فِي زَاوِيَةٍ بَعِيدَةٍ عَنِ الْمَدْخَلِ. كَانَتْ رِيمٌ قَدْ أَمْضَتْ أَسَابِيعَ فِي صُنْعِ الْمَصَابِيحِ، وَخَشِيَتْ أَلَّا يَرَاهَا الزُّوَّارُ. سَمِعْتُ التَّعَبَ فِي صَوْتِهَا، فَكَتَبْتُ فِي مَجْمُوعَةِ الْمُشَارِكَاتِ أَنَّ تَوْزِيعَ الطَّاوِلَاتِ غَيْرُ عَادِلٍ، وَطَالَبْتُ هُدَى بِتَغْيِيرِهِ. أَيَّدَتْنِي مُشَارِكَتَانِ، فَشَعَرْتُ أَنَّنِي أَصْلَحْتُ ظُلْمًا لَمْ يَجْرُؤْ أَحَدٌ عَلَى ذِكْرِهِ.
رَدَّتْ هُدَى بِرِسَالَةٍ خَاصَّةٍ، وَأَرْسَلَتْ لِي صُورَةً مِنْ مُحَادَثَتِهَا مَعَ رِيمٍ. فِيهَا طَلَبَتْ رِيمٌ مَكَانًا قَرِيبًا مِنْ مَقْبَسِ الْكَهْرَبَاءِ لِتَجْرِبَةِ مَصَابِيحِهَا. كَانَ الْمَقْبَسُ الْمُتَاحُ فِي تِلْكَ الزَّاوِيَةِ. سَأَلَتْنِي هُدَى: هَلْ رَأَيْتِ الْقَاعَةَ، أَمْ أَنَّكِ حَكَمْتِ مِنْ مُكَالَمَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ؟ لَمْ أَزُرْهَا، وَلَمْ أَسْأَلْ عَنْ سَبَبِ التَّوْزِيعِ.
عُدْتُ إِلَى رِيمٍ، فَقَالَتْ إِنَّهَا قَصَدَتْ تَجْرِبَةَ الْمَصَابِيحِ قَبْلَ الِافْتِتَاحِ فَقَطْ، لَا الْبَقَاءَ بِجَانِبِ الْمَقْبَسِ طَوَالَ الْيَوْمِ. كَانَتْ رِسَالَتُهَا تَذْكُرُ التَّجْرِبَةَ، لَكِنَّهَا لَمْ تُحَدِّدْ مَتَى تَنْتَهِي. قَالَتْ إِنَّ هُدَى يَجِبُ أَنْ تَفْهَمَ قَصْدَهَا. وَحِينَ اقْتَرَحْتُ مُحَادَثَةً بَيْنَهُمَا، سَأَلَتْنِي إِنْ كُنْتُ قَدْ غَيَّرْتُ مَوْقِفِي وَتَرَكْتُهَا وَحْدَهَا.
قُلْتُ إِنَّنِي مَا زِلْتُ أُرِيدُ أَنْ يَرَى النَّاسُ عَمَلَهَا، وَلَكِنَّنِي اتَّهَمْتُ شَخْصًا قَبْلَ سَمَاعِهِ. لَمْ تَقْتَنِعْ بِسُهُولَةٍ؛ فَقَدْ فَهِمَتْ رِسَالَتِي الْأُولَى وَعْدًا بِالدِّفَاعِ عَنْهَا. كَتَبْتُ لِلْمَجْمُوعَةِ أَنَّنِي تَسَرَّعْتُ فِي الْحُكْمِ، وَاعْتَذَرْتُ لِهُدَى عَنِ الِاتِّهَامِ. لَمْ أَقُلْ إِنَّ الْمَكَانَ مُنَاسِبٌ، لِأَنَّ هَذَا أَمْرٌ لَمْ أَتَحَقَّقْ مِنْهُ بَعْدُ.
فِي الْمَسَاءِ، أَرْسَلَتْ هُدَى مُخَطَّطَ الْقَاعَةِ وَاقْتَرَحَتْ زِيَارَةً قَصِيرَةً لِلْبَحْثِ عَنْ حَلٍّ. قُلْتُ لِرِيمٍ إِنَّنِي مُسْتَعِدَّةٌ لِحَمْلِ الْمَصَابِيحِ وَمُسَاعَدَتِهَا فِي تَجْرِبَتِهَا. قَرَأَتْ رِسَالَتِي وَلَمْ تُجِبْ. وَضَعْتُ هَاتِفِي جَانِبًا، ثُمَّ أَعَدْتُ فَتْحَهُ لِأَحْذِفَ جُمْلَةً كُنْتُ أَعْدَدْتُهَا لِلْمَجْمُوعَةِ: أَنَا أَعْرِفُ رِيمًا، وَأَعْرِفُ أَنَّهَا عَلَى حَقٍّ. بَقِيَ مَوْعِدُ الزِّيَارَةِ يَنْتَظِرُ رَدَّهَا.
Show English translationHide English translation
My friend Reem called me two days before the craft exhibition and said that Huda had placed her table in a corner far from the entrance. Reem had spent weeks making lamps and feared that visitors would not see them. I heard the exhaustion in her voice, so I wrote in the participants’ group that the table allocation was unfair and demanded that Huda change it. Two participants supported me, and I felt I had put right an injustice that nobody had dared to mention.
Huda replied privately and sent me an image of her conversation with Reem. In it, Reem had requested a place near an electrical socket to test her lamps. The available socket was in that corner. Huda asked me, “Have you seen the hall, or did you judge from one phone call?” I had not visited it or asked why the tables had been allocated that way.
I went back to Reem, who said she had meant to test the lamps only before the opening, not remain beside the socket all day. Her message mentioned testing, but did not specify when it would end. She said Huda ought to understand what she meant. When I suggested a conversation between them, she asked whether I had changed my position and abandoned her.
I said I still wanted people to see her work, but I had accused someone before hearing her out. Reem was not easily convinced: she had understood my first message as a promise to defend her. I wrote to the group that I had judged too quickly and apologised to Huda for the accusation. I did not say that the location was suitable, because that was something I had not yet checked.
That evening, Huda sent a plan of the hall and proposed a short visit to look for a solution. I told Reem I was willing to carry the lamps and help her test them. She read my message without replying. I put my phone aside, then opened it again to delete a sentence I had prepared for the group: “I know Reem, and I know she is right.” The proposed visit was still awaiting her response.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| مَعْرِضِ الْحِرَفِ | the craft exhibition |
| تَوْزِيعَ الطَّاوِلَاتِ | the allocation of tables |
| غَيْرُ عَادِلٍ | unfair |
| مَقْبَسِ الْكَهْرَبَاءِ | the electrical socket |
| طَوَالَ الْيَوْمِ | throughout the day |
| بِالدِّفَاعِ عَنْهَا | to defend her |
| تَسَرَّعْتُ فِي الْحُكْمِ | I judged too quickly |
| عَنِ الِاتِّهَامِ | for the accusation |
| مُخَطَّطَ الْقَاعَةِ | the plan of the hall |
| مُسْتَعِدَّةٌ | willing; ready |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Use the Arabic text to distinguish facts, motives and supported inferences. Open the English support when needed.
What to remember
- A request can be genuine yet leave its intended limits unclear; compare the wording with each person’s interpretation.
- The narrator retracts an accusation and still offers practical help, while the friendship’s tension remains unresolved.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Lam in Arabic: How to Say “Did Not”
وَلَمْ أَسْأَلْ عَنْ سَبَبِ التَّوْزِيعِ
Follow lam with a jussive verb as the narrator identifies a question she failed to ask.
Lakinna and Lakin in Arabic: Two Patterns for But
لَكِنَّهَا لَمْ تُحَدِّدْ مَتَى تَنْتَهِي
Notice how lakinnaha contrasts a request’s stated purpose with its missing time limit.
