A cheerful email reaches a publishing team before three approvals do. Rania’s question about overnight work changes what the manager puts in writing.
01Read the Arabic story
الْمُدِيرُ خَلْفَ الرَّسَائِلِ الْمَرِحَةِ
فَتَحَتْ رَانِيَا رِسَالَةَ الْمُدِيرِ فَوْقَ صَفْحَةِ الْفِهْرِسِ الَّتِي تُرَاجِعُهَا. بَدَأَتْ بِعِبَارَةٍ مَأْلُوفَةٍ: «سَنُنْهِي الْأُسْبُوعَ بِإِنْجَازٍ جَمِيلٍ». كَانَ الْفَرِيقُ يُعِدُّ كَتَابًا لِعَمِيلٍ، وَلَمْ تَكُنِ الْمُوَافَقَاتُ الثَّلَاثُ قَدْ وَصَلَتْ. قَرَأَ زَمِيلُهَا الْجُمْلَةَ كَأَنَّهَا وَعْدٌ، وَفَتَحَ مِلَفَّ الطِّبَاعَةِ. أَمَّا هِيَ فَوَضَعَتْ عِنْدَ الْمَوْعِدِ عَلَامَةَ اسْتِفْهَامٍ، ثُمَّ عَادَتْ إِلَى تَصْحِيحِ الْعَنَاوِينِ.
عِنْدَ الْمَسَاءِ، دَخَلَتْ مَكْتَبَهُ لِتَسْأَلَ عَنِ الْمُوَافَقَاتِ. كَانَ يُكَلِّمُ الْمَطْبَعَةَ، وَأَمَامَهُ وَرَقَةٌ بِأَسْمَاءِ الْعَامِلِينَ. سَمِعَتْهُ يَطْلُبُ مَوْعِدًا آخَرَ، ثُمَّ يَقُولُ لِلْعَمِيلِ إِنَّ صَفْحَتَيْنِ مَا زَالَتَا تَحْتَ الْمُرَاجَعَةِ. لَمْ يَبْدُ مُرْتَاحًا كَمَا بَدَتْ رِسَالَتُهُ. تَرَكَ الْهَاتِفَ وَسَأَلَهَا عَنِ الْفِهْرِسِ، فَأَجَابَتْ، لَكِنَّهَا لَمْ تَعُدَّ تَعَبَهُ جَوَابًا عَنْ مَوْعِدِ الْعَمَلِ.
سَأَلَتْ رَانِيَا مَنْ سَيُنْهِي الصَّفَحَاتِ إِذَا وَصَلَتِ الْمُوَافَقَاتُ لَيْلًا. أَشَارَ إِلَى الْوَرَقَةِ، ثُمَّ تَوَقَّفَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَقُولَ اسْمًا. قَالَ إِنَّهُ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُشَجِّعَهُمْ، وَإِنَّ الْعَمِيلَ يَنْتَظِرُ الْكِتَابَ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ. قَالَتْ إِنَّ التَّشْجِيعَ وَصَلَ، أَمَّا السَّاعَاتُ فَلَمْ تُكْتَبْ. كَانَ فِي الْوَرَقَةِ مَكَانٌ لِكُلِّ اسْمٍ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ فِيهَا مَكَانٌ لِمَنْ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ الْبَقَاءَ.
فِي الصَّبَاحِ، طَلَبَ الْمُدِيرُ مِنَ الْعَمِيلِ قَبُولَ التَّسْلِيمِ يَوْمَ الثُّلَاثَاءِ بَعْدَهُ. جَاءَ الرَّدُّ قَصِيرًا وَغَيْرَ رَاضٍ؛ وَافَقَ الْعَمِيلُ، لَكِنَّهُ طَلَبَ تَفْسِيرًا لِلتَّأْخِيرِ. كَتَبَ الْمُدِيرُ أَسْبَابَهُ بِاسْمِهِ، وَأَرْسَلَ لِلْفَرِيقِ جَدْوَلًا يُبَيِّنُ الْعَمَلَ الْمُتَبَقِّيَ وَسَاعَاتِهِ. لَمْ يَعِدْ بِنِهَايَةٍ جَمِيلَةٍ لِلْأُسْبُوعِ. أَبْقَى الشُّكْرَ فِي آخِرِ الرِّسَالَةِ، وَطَلَبَ مِنْهُمْ تَصْحِيحَ الْجَدْوَلِ قَبْلَ إِرْسَالِهِ لِلْمَطْبَعَةِ.
قَرَأَتْ رَانِيَا الْجَدْوَلَ وَأَضَافَتْ سَاعَةً لِمُرَاجَعَةِ الْفِهْرِسِ. لَمْ تُصْبِحِ الرِّسَالَةُ الْأُولَى كَذِبَةً خَالِصَةً، وَلَمْ يُصْبِحِ الْجَدْوَلُ ضَمَانًا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ. بَقِيَتْ مُوَافَقَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ مُعَلَّقَةً. حِينَ سَأَلَهَا زَمِيلُهَا إِنْ كَانَ الْمُدِيرُ مَرِحًا حَقًّا، قَالَتْ إِنَّهَا لَا تَعْرِفُ. لَكِنَّهَا صَارَتْ تَعْرِفُ مَنْ سَيُجِيبُ الْعَمِيلَ إِذَا تَأَخَّرَ الْكِتَابُ، وَكَمْ مِنَ الْوَقْتِ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ عَمَلُهَا.
Show English translationHide English translation
Rania opened the manager’s email over the contents page she was checking. It began with a familiar phrase: “We will end the week with a lovely achievement.” The team was preparing a book for a client, and the three approvals had not arrived. Her colleague read the sentence as a promise and opened the print file. She put a question mark beside the deadline, then returned to correcting the headings.
That evening she entered his office to ask about the approvals. He was speaking to the printer, with a sheet listing the workers’ names in front of him. She heard him request another slot, then tell the client that two pages were still under review. He did not seem as relaxed as his email. He put down the phone and asked about the contents page. She answered, but did not count his tiredness as an answer about the work deadline.
Rania asked who would finish the pages if the approvals arrived at night. He pointed to the sheet, then stopped before naming anyone. He said he had wanted to encourage them and that the client expected the book on Friday. She said the encouragement had arrived, but the hours had not been written down. There was a place on the sheet for every name, and none for someone who could not stay.
In the morning the manager asked the client to accept delivery on the Tuesday after that Friday. The reply was brief and displeased: the client agreed but requested an explanation for the delay. The manager wrote the reasons under his own name and sent the team a schedule showing the remaining work and its hours. He did not promise a lovely end to the week. He kept the thanks at the end of the email and asked them to correct the schedule before it went to the printer.
Rania read the schedule and added an hour for checking the contents page. The first email had not become a pure lie, nor had the schedule become a guarantee of everything. One approval remained pending. When her colleague asked whether the manager was really cheerful, she said she did not know. But she now knew who would answer the client if the book was late, and how much time her work needed.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| الْفِهْرِسِ | the contents page; the index |
| الْمُوَافَقَاتُ | the approvals |
| مِلَفَّ | the file |
| بِأَسْمَاءِ | with the names of |
| مَوْعِدًا | an appointment; a time slot |
| التَّسْلِيمِ | delivery |
| لِلْمَطْبَعَةِ | to the printer |
| ضَمَانًا | a guarantee |
| مُعَلَّقَةً | pending; still undecided |
| لِمُرَاجَعَةِ | for checking; for reviewing |
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
- The manager’s private effort complicates the cheerful tone without resolving the team’s question about working hours.
- A clearer schedule and named responsibility create room for correction, while one approval remains pending.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Arabic Relative Pronouns: Joining Ideas with Alladhi and Allati
صَفْحَةِ الْفِهْرِسِ الَّتِي تُرَاجِعُهَا
Connect the feminine contents page to the clause describing Rania’s review.
Lam in Arabic: How to Say “Did Not”
لَمْ يَعِدْ بِنِهَايَةٍ جَمِيلَةٍ لِلْأُسْبُوعِ
Read lam as denying the manager’s renewed promise about the end of the week.
