Nadia disguises a complaint about a closed reading room as thanks. A bulletin extracts her opening, and she must decide what to make explicit in the next note.
01Read the Arabic story
الشَّكْوَى الَّتِي كُتِبَتْ فِي صُورَةِ رِسَالَةِ شُكْرٍ
كَتَبَتْ نَادِيَةُ رِسَالَةَ شُكْرٍ إِلَى إِدَارَةِ الْمَكْتَبَةِ، بَعْدَ أَنْ أُغْلِقَتْ قَاعَةُ الْقِرَاءَةِ ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ بِسَبَبِ الْإِصْلَاحَاتِ. بَدَأَتْ بِعِبَارَةِ «شُكْرًا عَلَى جُهُودِكُمْ»، ثُمَّ امْتَدَحَتِ الْفُرْصَةَ لِتَعَلُّمِ الصَّبْرِ أَمَامَ بَابٍ مُغْلَقٍ. كَانَتْ تَسْمَعُ صَوْتَ الْمِثْقَابِ وَهِيَ تَكْتُبُ، وَتَظُنُّ أَنَّ الْقَارِئَ سَيَسْمَعُهُ مَعَهَا. لَمْ تَطْلُبْ غُرْفَةً بَدِيلَةً؛ أَرَادَتْ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْإِدَارَةَ تَخْجَلُ فَتَقْتَرِحَ وَاحِدَةً.
قَرَأَتْ صَدِيقَتُهَا الرِّسَالَةَ وَضَحِكَتْ. رَأَتْ أَنَّ الْغَضَبَ وَاضِحٌ، فَأَرْسَلَتْهَا نَادِيَةُ. بَعْدَ يَوْمَيْنِ، وَجَدَتِ الْعِبَارَةَ الْأُولَى فِي نَشْرَةِ الْمَكْتَبَةِ تَحْتَ عُنْوَانِ «كَلِمَاتٌ مِنَ الْقُرَّاءِ». لَمْ يَظْهَرِ الْبَابُ الْمُغْلَقُ وَلَا الصَّبْرُ. كَتَبَ الْمُدِيرُ أَنَّ رَسَائِلَ التَّقْدِيرِ تَدْعَمُ الْعَامِلِينَ خِلَالَ الْإِصْلَاحِ. كَانَتْ غَاضِبَةً مِنَ الِاقْتِبَاسِ، وَمِنْ جُمْلَةٍ كَتَبَتْهَا بِيَدِهَا وَصَارَتْ تَقُولُ مَا لَمْ تَقْصِدْهُ.
ذَهَبَتْ إِلَى الْمَكْتَبَةِ وَحَمَلَتِ الرِّسَالَةَ. أَوْضَحَ الْمُوَظَّفُ أَنَّهُ أَرْسَلَ الِافْتِتَاحَ إِلَى مُعِدِّ النَّشْرَةِ، وَوَضَعَ الْبَاقِيَ فِي مِلَفِّ الْمُرَاسَلَاتِ. لَمْ يَقُلْ إِنَّهُ فَهِمَ السُّخْرِيَةَ، وَلَمْ تَعْرِفْ هِيَ إِنْ كَانَ قَدْ قَرَأَ النِّهَايَةَ. أَشَارَتْ إِلَى الْبَابِ، فَقَالَ إِنَّ الْعَمَلَ سَيَسْتَمِرُّ أُسْبُوعًا آخَرَ. لَمْ يَكُنْ ضَحْكُ صَدِيقَتِهَا، هُنَا، دَلِيلًا عَلَى وُصُولِ الشَّكْوَى.
كَتَبَتْ نَادِيَةُ رِسَالَةً ثَانِيَةً، وَذَكَرَتْ فِيهَا تَوَارِيخَ الْإِغْلَاقِ وَمَوْعِدَ لِقَاءِ نَادِي الْقِرَاءَةِ. طَلَبَتْ مَكَانًا بَدِيلًا، وَسَأَلَتْ مَتَى تُفْتَحُ الْقَاعَةُ. لَمْ تَكْتُبْ أَنَّهَا رَاضِيَةٌ، وَلَمْ تَصِفِ الْعَامِلِينَ بِالْإِهْمَالِ. وَأَرْفَقَتِ الرِّسَالَةَ الْأُولَى مَعَ تَوْضِيحٍ لِمَعْنَاهَا. بَدَتِ النُّسْخَةُ أَقَلَّ ذَكَاءً لِصَدِيقَتِهَا، وَلَكِنَّ طَلَبَهَا كَانَ أَوْضَحَ. لَمْ تَتْرُكْ لِلْقَارِئِ أَنْ يُكْمِلَ السُّؤَالَ بَدَلًا مِنْهَا.
وَصَلَ جَوَابٌ يُحَدِّدُ غُرْفَةً لِلِّقَاءِ وَمَوْعِدًا مُتَوَقَّعًا لِفَتْحِ الْقَاعَةِ. لَمْ يَعْتَذِرْ عَنِ الِاقْتِبَاسِ، فَكَتَبَتْ نَادِيَةُ أَنَّهَا تَرْجُو تَصْحِيحَ النَّشْرَةِ، ثُمَّ شَكَرَتِ الْإِدَارَةَ عَلَى تَحْدِيدِ الْغُرْفَةِ. وَضَعَتِ الرِّسَالَتَيْنِ فِي حَقِيبَتِهَا لِتَعْرِضَهُمَا عَلَى النَّادِي. عِنْدَ الْبَابِ، وَصَلَهَا صَوْتُ الْمِثْقَابِ. كَانَ الشُّكْرُ الْأَخِيرُ صَادِقًا، وَبَقِيَتْ عَلَى الْوَرَقَةِ نَفْسِهَا شَكْوَى تَنْتَظِرُ جَوَابًا.
Show English translationHide English translation
Nadia wrote a thank-you note to the library management after the reading room had been closed for three days because of repairs. She began with “Thank you for your efforts,” then praised the opportunity to learn patience before a closed door. She could hear the drill while writing and thought her reader would hear it with her. She did not request an alternative room; she wanted to make the management feel ashamed and propose one.
Her friend read the note and laughed. She thought the anger was clear, so Nadia sent it. Two days later, Nadia found the first phrase in the library bulletin beneath the heading “Words from readers.” Neither the closed door nor patience appeared. The director wrote that messages of appreciation supported the workers during the repairs. Nadia was angry at the quotation, and at a sentence she had written herself that now said what she had not intended.
She went to the library carrying the note. The employee explained that he had sent the opening to the bulletin editor and put the rest in the correspondence file. He did not say he had understood the irony, and she did not know whether he had read the ending. She pointed to the door, and he said work would continue for another week. Her friend’s laughter was not, here, evidence that the complaint had reached its destination.
Nadia wrote a second note, giving the closure dates and the reading club’s meeting time. She requested an alternative place and asked when the room would open. She did not write that she was satisfied or describe the workers as negligent. She attached the first note with an explanation of its meaning. The version seemed less clever to her friend, but its request was clearer. She did not leave the reader to finish the question for her.
A reply arrived identifying a room for the meeting and an expected reopening date. It did not apologise for the quotation, so Nadia wrote that she hoped the bulletin would be corrected, then thanked the management for identifying the room. She put both notes in her bag to show them to the club. At the door she heard the drill. The final thanks were sincere, and on the same page remained a complaint awaiting an answer.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| الْإِصْلَاحَاتِ | the repairs |
| الْمِثْقَابِ | the drill |
| بَدِيلَةً | alternative; substitute |
| النَّشْرَةِ | the bulletin |
| الِاقْتِبَاسِ | the quotation; excerpt |
| السُّخْرِيَةَ | the irony; sarcasm |
| الْبَاقِيَ | the rest; remaining part |
| الْمُرَاسَلَاتِ | the correspondence |
| بِالْإِهْمَالِ | as negligent; with negligence |
| مُتَوَقَّعًا | expected |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer per question. Follow the changing perspectives and distinguish what the text shows from what its characters assume.
What to remember
- A friend’s response to a complete note does not guarantee how an extracted sentence reaches another reader.
- Specific thanks can coexist with a complaint that remains unanswered.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Arabic Past-Tense Endings: I Wrote, You Wrote and We Wrote
كَتَبَتْ نَادِيَةُ رِسَالَةً ثَانِيَةً
Read katabat as the regular feminine past form identifying Nadia as the writer.
Lam in Arabic: How to Say “Did Not”
لَمْ تَطْلُبْ غُرْفَةً بَدِيلَةً
Use lam with the jussive verb to deny the first note’s explicit request.
