Late shopping makes a worker’s evening easier, while her mother struggles to sleep upstairs. A conversation with the seller reveals where some of the noise can change.
01Read the Arabic story
السُّوقُ الَّذِي بَقِيَ مَفْتُوحًا بَعْدَ الظَّلَامِ
عُدْتُ مِنَ الْمَكْتَبِ بَعْدَ الثَّامِنَةِ، فَوَجَدْتُ سُوقَ الْحَيِّ مُضَاءً عَلَى غَيْرِ الْعَادَةِ. كَانَ التُّجَّارُ قَدْ مَدَّدُوا الْبَيْعَ حَتَّى التَّاسِعَةِ. اشْتَرَيْتُ خُضَارًا مِنْ وَفَاءَ، وَقُلْتُ إِنَّ الْمَوْعِدَ الْجَدِيدَ أَرَاحَنِي مِنَ التَّسَوُّقِ فِي اسْتِرَاحَةِ الْعَمَلِ. ضَحِكَتْ وَهِيَ تُرَتِّبُ الْبَاقِيَ مِنْ بَضَاعَتِهَا، وَقَالَتْ إِنَّ الْعُمَّالَ الْمُتَأَخِّرِينَ صَارُوا مِنْ أَفْضَلِ زَبَائِنِهَا.
كَانَ بَيْتُنَا فَوْقَ السُّوقِ مُبَاشَرَةً. حِينَ دَخَلْتُ، وَجَدْتُ أُمِّي جَالِسَةً بِجَانِبِ نَافِذَةٍ مُغْلَقَةٍ. هِيَ تَسْتَيْقِظُ قَبْلَ الْفَجْرِ لِتَعْمَلَ فِي مَخْبَزٍ، وَكَانَ جَرُّ الصَّنَادِيقِ فِي الْأَسْفَلِ يَمْنَعُهَا مِنَ النَّوْمِ. لَمْ تَشْتَكِ مِنْ صَوْتِ الْبَيْعِ وَحْدَهُ؛ فَالتَّنْظِيفُ بَعْدَ إِغْلَاقِ الْبَسَطَاتِ كَانَ يَسْتَمِرُّ سَاعَةً أُخْرَى. وَضَعْتُ الْخُضَارَ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ دُونَ تَعْلِيقٍ.
فِي الْمَسَاءِ التَّالِي، نَزَلْتُ لِأَتَحَدَّثَ مَعَ وَفَاءَ. قَبْلَ أَنْ أَشْرَحَ، ظَنَّتْ أَنَّنِي أُرِيدُ شِرَاءَ الْمَزِيدِ. قُلْتُ إِنَّنِي أَسْتَفِيدُ مِنَ الْفَتْحِ الْمُتَأَخِّرِ، لَكِنَّ أُمِّي تَدْفَعُ جُزْءًا مِنْ ثَمَنِهِ مِنْ رَاحَتِهَا. أَجَابَتْ وَفَاءُ أَنَّ الْإِغْلَاقَ فِي الثَّامِنَةِ سَيُفْقِدُهَا مُعْظَمَ بَيْعِهَا الْإِضَافِيِّ. ثُمَّ سَأَلَتْنِي عَنِ الْأَصْوَاتِ الَّتِي تُزْعِجُ أُمِّي أَكْثَرَ مِنْ غَيْرِهَا.
صَعِدَتْ وَفَاءُ مَعِي وَاسْتَمَعَتْ قَلِيلًا. فِي الْأُسْبُوعِ التَّالِي، نَقَلَتْ صَنَادِيقَهَا الْفَارِغَةَ قَبْلَ الثَّامِنَةِ، وَوَضَعَتْ قُمَاشًا سَمِيكًا تَحْتَ مَا بَقِيَ مِنْهَا. وَاتَّفَقَتْ مَعَ بَائِعٍ مُجَاوِرٍ عَلَى تَجْمِيعِ الْبَضَائِعِ مِنْ جِهَةِ الشَّارِعِ، بَعِيدًا عَنْ نَافِذَتِنَا. احْتَاجَ التَّرْتِيبُ إِلَى وَقْتٍ أَطْوَلَ، وَلَمْ يَلْتَزِمْ بِهِ جَمِيعُ الْبَاعَةِ. كَانَ مُمْكِنًا أَنْ يَخِفَّ الصَّوْتُ، لَا أَنْ يَخْتَفِيَ.
بَعْدَ أَيَّامٍ، قَالَتْ أُمِّي إِنَّ الْجَرَّ الْمُتَأَخِّرَ قَلَّ، لَكِنَّ نِدَاءَاتِ بَعْضِ الزَّبَائِنِ مَا زَالَتْ تُوقِظُهَا. نَقَلْتُ ذَلِكَ إِلَى وَفَاءَ وَأَنَا أَدْفَعُ ثَمَنَ الْخُضَارِ. لَمْ تَعِدْنِي بِلَيْلَةٍ صَامِتَةٍ، بَلْ وَضَعَتْ لَافِتَةً تَطْلُبُ خَفْضَ الصَّوْتِ. عِنْدَ خُرُوجِي، أَشَرْتُ لِصَدِيقَةٍ بَدَلًا مِنْ مُنَادَاتِهَا عَبْرَ السُّوقِ. فِي الْأَعْلَى، بَقِيَ ضَوْءُ غُرْفَةِ أُمِّي مُطْفَأً تِلْكَ اللَّيْلَةَ.
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I returned from the office after eight and found the neighbourhood market lit up, unlike usual. The traders had extended selling until nine. I bought vegetables from Wafa and said the new hours spared me shopping during my work break. She laughed as she arranged her remaining goods and said workers arriving late had become some of her best customers.
Our home was directly above the market. When I entered, I found my mother sitting beside a closed window. She wakes before dawn to work in a bakery, and the dragging of crates below was keeping her from sleeping. She did not complain only about the sounds of selling: cleaning after the stalls closed continued for another hour. I put the vegetables on the table without comment.
The following evening, I went down to speak to Wafa. Before I could explain, she thought I wanted to buy more. I said I benefited from the late opening, but my mother paid part of its price with her rest. Wafa replied that closing at eight would cost her most of her extra sales. Then she asked which sounds disturbed my mother most.
Wafa came upstairs with me and listened for a while. The following week, she moved her empty crates before eight and put thick fabric beneath those that remained. She arranged with a neighbouring seller to gather the goods on the street side, away from our window. The arrangement took more time, and not all the sellers followed it. The noise could diminish, but not disappear.
A few days later, my mother said the late dragging had decreased, but some customers’ calls still woke her. I passed this on to Wafa while paying for vegetables. She did not promise me a silent night; instead, she put up a sign asking people to lower their voices. As I left, I waved to a female friend instead of calling across the market. Upstairs, the light in my mother’s room stayed off that night.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| مُضَاءً | lit up |
| مَدَّدُوا | extended |
| اسْتِرَاحَةِ الْعَمَلِ | the work break |
| جَرُّ الصَّنَادِيقِ | the dragging of crates |
| الْبَسَطَاتِ | the market stalls |
| الْإِضَافِيِّ | extra; additional |
| قُمَاشًا سَمِيكًا | thick fabric |
| تَجْمِيعِ | gathering |
| يَلْتَزِمْ | follow; adhere to |
| نِدَاءَاتِ | the calls of |
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
- The same late hours help the narrator and disturb her mother; benefit and inconvenience can belong to one household.
- Changing how crates are handled reduces one source of noise, while customers and other sellers still affect the result.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Purpose Li in Arabic: How to Say “In Order To”
لِأَتَحَدَّثَ مَعَ وَفَاءَ
See purpose li introduce the reason for going downstairs to meet the seller.
Lakinna and Lakin in Arabic: Two Patterns for But
لَكِنَّ أُمِّي تَدْفَعُ جُزْءًا مِنْ ثَمَنِهِ
Notice lakinna introducing a cost that qualifies the narrator’s personal benefit.
