A returning editor finds that Layla has made her old job work better. An old binder offers a contribution, but cannot restore her former position.
01Read the Arabic story
الْعَمَلُ بِجَانِبِ مَنْ حَلَّتْ مَحَلِّي
عُدْتُ إِلَى دَارِ النَّشْرِ بَعْدَ عَامٍ قَضَيْتُهُ مَعَ أُسْرَتِي فِي مَدِينَةٍ أُخْرَى. حَمَلْتُ مِلَفِّيَ الْأَصْفَرَ، وَتَوَقَّعْتُ أَنْ أَجِدَ أَعْمَالًا تَنْتَظِرُنِي. غَيْرَ أَنَّ لَيْلَى، الَّتِي تَوَلَّتْ مَسْؤُولِيَّاتِي، كَانَتْ تَعْرِفُ مَوَاعِيدَ الْكُتُبِ دُونَ أَنْ تَفْتَحَ دَفْتَرًا. عَلَى مَكْتَبِهَا جَدْوَلٌ أَزْرَقُ يَفْهَمُهُ الْجَمِيعُ. رَحَّبَ بِي زُمَلَائِي بِصِدْقٍ، ثُمَّ وَجَّهُوا أَسْئِلَتَهُمُ الْعَاجِلَةَ إِلَيْهَا. وَلَمْ يَكُنْ أَحَدٌ مِنْهُمْ يُحَاوِلُ إِشْعَارِي بِأَنَّنِي غَرِيبَةٌ فِي الْمَكَانِ.
قَالَ الْمُدِيرُ إِنَّ رَاتِبِي سَيَبْقَى كَمَا هُوَ، لَكِنَّ الْقِسْمَ لَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى مَسْؤُولَتَيْنِ عَنِ الْجَدْوَلِ. سَأَلْتُهُ عَمَّا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ، فَأَجَابَ: شَخْصٌ يُرَاجِعُ النُّصُوصَ قَبْلَ الطِّبَاعَةِ. كُنْتُ أُحِبُّ هَذَا الْعَمَلَ، إِلَّا أَنَّ عَرْضَهُ عَلَيَّ بَدَا كَأَنَّهُ تَعْوِيضٌ عَنْ مَكَانٍ ضَاعَ. طَلَبْتُ وَقْتًا لِلتَّفْكِيرِ، وَأَخْفَيْتُ الْمِلَفَّ تَحْتَ حَقِيبَتِي.
بَعْدَ الظُّهْرِ، سَأَلَتْنِي لَيْلَى عَنْ كَاتِبٍ يَرْفُضُ تَغْيِيرَ نَوْعِ الْوَرَقِ. فَتَحْتُ الْمِلَفَّ وَأَرَيْتُهَا رِسَالَةً قَدِيمَةً تَشْرَحُ سَبَبَ اخْتِيَارِهِ. شَكَرَتْنِي، ثُمَّ سَأَلَتْ إِنْ كُنْتُ أَسْتَطِيعُ حِفْظَ هَذِهِ الْمَعْلُومَاتِ فِي مَكَانٍ مُشْتَرَكٍ. كِدْتُ أَقُولُ إِنَّ أَحَدًا لَمْ يَحْفَظْ مَكَانِي أَنَا. لَكِنَّنِي نَظَرْتُ إِلَى جَدْوَلِهَا، وَرَأَيْتُ أَنَّ طَلَبَهَا سَيُسَهِّلُ الْعَمَلَ حَقًّا.
فِي الْيَوْمِ التَّالِي، قَبِلْتُ مُرَاجَعَةَ النُّصُوصِ، وَطَلَبْتُ أَنْ يُذْكَرَ دَوْرِي بِوُضُوحٍ فِي تَوْزِيعِ الْمَهَامِّ. وَافَقَ الْمُدِيرُ، وَلَمْ يُعِدْ إِلَيَّ مَسْؤُولِيَّتِي السَّابِقَةَ. جَلَسَتْ لَيْلَى بِجَانِبِي لِتَشْرَحَ نِظَامَهَا. قَاطَعْتُهَا مَرَّتَيْنِ بِعِبَارَةِ «كُنَّا نَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ بِطَرِيقَةٍ أُخْرَى»، ثُمَّ تَوَقَّفْتُ. كَانَتْ بَعْضُ تَغْيِيرَاتِهَا أَفْضَلَ، وَكَانَ الِاعْتِرَافُ بِذَلِكَ أَثْقَلَ مِمَّا تَوَقَّعْتُ.
عِنْدَ انْتِهَاءِ أَوَّلِ نَصٍّ، نَاوَلْتُ لَيْلَى النُّسْخَةَ الْمُصَحَّحَةَ لِتُدْخِلَهَا فِي جَدْوَلِ الطِّبَاعَةِ. سَأَلَتْنِي عَنْ مُلَاحَظَةٍ فِي الْهَامِشِ، فَسَحَبْتُ كُرْسِيًّا إِلَى جَانِبِهَا بَدَلًا مِنْ حَمْلِ الْوَرَقَةِ إِلَى الْمُدِيرِ. بَقِيَتْ لَوْحَةُ اسْمِي الْقَدِيمَةُ فِي الْحَقِيبَةِ. أَمَّا الْمِلَفُّ الْأَصْفَرُ، فَوَضَعْتُهُ مَفْتُوحًا بَيْنَنَا، وَأَخَذَتْ لَيْلَى تَقْرَأُ الْمُلَاحَظَاتِ الَّتِي أَضَفْتُهَا أَمَامَهَا.
Show English translationHide English translation
I returned to the publishing house after a year spent with my family in another city. I carried my yellow binder and expected to find work waiting for me. Yet Layla, who had taken over my responsibilities, knew the books’ deadlines without opening a notebook. On her desk was a blue schedule that everyone understood. My colleagues welcomed me sincerely, then directed their urgent questions to her. None of them was trying to make me feel like a stranger there.
The manager said my salary would remain the same, but the department did not need two people responsible for the schedule. I asked what it did need, and he answered, “Someone to review the texts before printing.” I liked this work, but being offered it felt like compensation for a place I had lost. I asked for time to think and hid the binder beneath my bag.
That afternoon, Layla asked me about an author who refused to change the type of paper. I opened the binder and showed her an old letter explaining his choice. She thanked me, then asked whether I could store this information somewhere shared. I almost said that no one had preserved my place. But I looked at her schedule and saw that her request really would make the work easier.
The next day, I accepted the text-reviewing work and asked for my role to be stated clearly in the allocation of tasks. The manager agreed without restoring my previous responsibility. Layla sat beside me to explain her system. I interrupted her twice with “We used to do that differently,” then stopped. Some of her changes were better, and admitting that was harder than I had expected.
When I finished the first text, I handed Layla the corrected copy so she could put it into the printing schedule. She asked me about a note in the margin, and I pulled a chair beside her instead of taking the page to the manager. My old nameplate stayed in my bag. As for the yellow binder, I placed it open between us, and Layla began reading the notes I had added in front of her.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| مِلَفِّيَ الْأَصْفَرَ | my yellow binder |
| تَوَلَّتْ مَسْؤُولِيَّاتِي | took over my responsibilities |
| أَسْئِلَتَهُمُ الْعَاجِلَةَ | their urgent questions |
| تَعْوِيضٌ | compensation |
| لِلتَّفْكِيرِ | to think; for reflection |
| مَكَانٍ مُشْتَرَكٍ | a shared place |
| تَوْزِيعِ الْمَهَامِّ | allocation of tasks |
| بِطَرِيقَةٍ أُخْرَى | in a different way |
| النُّسْخَةَ الْمُصَحَّحَةَ | the corrected copy |
| لَوْحَةُ اسْمِي | my nameplate |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Distinguish facts, motives and supported inferences using the Arabic text. Open the English support when needed.
What to remember
- The narrator likes reviewing texts, yet losing her former responsibility makes the offer difficult to accept.
- The shared binder and chair suggest cooperation beginning; the nameplate in her bag preserves the emotional cost.
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 يُعِدْ إِلَيَّ مَسْؤُولِيَّتِي السَّابِقَةَ
Read lam with the jussive to see which responsibility the manager does not restore.
Arabic Relative Pronouns: Joining Ideas with Alladhi and Allati
الَّتِي تَوَلَّتْ مَسْؤُولِيَّاتِي
Follow allati back to Layla, the woman identified by her work during the narrator’s absence.
