A colleague’s promotion changes a familiar lunch routine. His friend must reconsider what he expects from both the friendship and the new position.
01Read the Arabic story
التَّرْقِيَةُ الَّتِي غَيَّرَتْ وَجَبَاتِ غَدَائِنَا
حِينَ أَصْبَحَ فَارِسٌ رَئِيسَ قِسْمِنَا، هَنَّأْتُهُ وَقُلْتُ إِنَّ شَيْئًا لَنْ يَتَغَيَّرَ بَيْنَنَا. كُنَّا نَفْتَحُ عُلْبَتَيْ غَدَائِنَا عِنْدَ النَّافِذَةِ، وَنَتَبَادَلُ الْخُبْزَ وَالشَّكْوَى. لَكِنَّ الْكُرْسِيَّ الْمُقَابِلَ أَصْبَحَ فَارِغًا فِي أَكْثَرِ الْأَيَّامِ. تَرَكْتُ عَلَيْهِ مِلْعَقَةً وَمِنْدِيلًا أَحْمَرَ، كَأَنَّ حَجْزَ الْمَكَانِ يُلْزِمُ صَاحِبَهُ بِالْعَوْدَةِ. رَأَيْتُ بَطَاقَتَهُ تَفْتَحُ بَابَ غُرْفَةِ الْمُدِيرِينَ، وَسَمَّيْتُ ذَلِكَ ابْتِعَادًا.
أَرْسَلْتُ إِلَيْهِ سُؤَالًا عَنْ غَدَائِنَا، فَاعْتَذَرَ وَاقْتَرَحَ يَوْمَ الِاثْنَيْنِ. قَبْلَ الْمَوْعِدِ، أَضَفْتُ رِسَالَةً عَنْ طَلَبِ نَقْلِي إِلَى فَرِيقٍ آخَرَ. لَمْ أَطْلُبْ مَعْلُومَةً فَحَسْبُ؛ كُنْتُ أَنْتَظِرُ مِنْهُ أَنْ يُسَرِّعَ الْأَمْرَ. وَعِنْدَمَا لَمْ يُجِبْ، عَدَدْتُ صَمْتَهُ دَلِيلًا ثَانِيًا، دُونَ أَنْ أُفَكِّرَ فِي اخْتِلَافِ الرِّسَالَتَيْنِ أَوْ فِي صِفَتِهِ وَهُوَ يَقْرَأُ كُلًّا مِنْهُمَا.
جَاءَ يَوْمَ الِاثْنَيْنِ بِعُلْبَتِهِ الْمَعْدِنِيَّةِ الْقَدِيمَةِ وَدَفْتَرٍ جَدِيدٍ. شَرَحَ أَنَّ اجْتِمَاعَاتِ الْمُدِيرِينَ تَمْتَدُّ إِلَى وَقْتِ الْغَدَاءِ، ثُمَّ أَغْلَقَ الدَّفْتَرَ. سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ النَّقْلِ، فَقَالَ إِنَّهُ يَسْتَطِيعُ شَرْحَ الْخُطُوَاتِ، لَا تَجَاوُزَهَا مِنْ أَجْلِي. بَدَا لِي جَوَابُهُ رَسْمِيًّا؛ غَيْرَ أَنَّنِي كُنْتُ أَنَا مَنْ أَدْخَلَ الْوَظِيفَةَ الْجَدِيدَةَ إِلَى حَدِيثِنَا عِنْدَ النَّافِذَةِ.
لَمْ يُبَدِّدِ الْغَدَاءُ كُلَّ ضِيقِي. فَاتَتْنِي الْمُصَادَفَاتُ الْقَدِيمَةُ، وَلَمْ تَكُنْ مَوَاعِيدُهُ الْجَدِيدَةُ مُنَاسِبَةً لِي دَائِمًا. لَكِنِّي لَمْ أَعُدْ أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ أَجْمَعَ هَذَا الْفَقْدَ وَتَأَخُّرَ طَلَبِي فِي شَكْوَى وَاحِدَةٍ. أَخْبَرْتُهُ أَنَّنِي أَفْتَقِدُ الْجُلُوسَ مَعَهُ، فَاقْتَرَحَ يَوْمَ الِاثْنَيْنِ كُلَّ أُسْبُوعَيْنِ. طَلَبْتُ أَنْ نُجَرِّبَ الْأَرْبِعَاءَ؛ كَانَ يَوْمُهُ الْمُقْتَرَحُ يُنَاسِبُهُ وَحْدَهُ. فَأَنَا أَيْضًا أَحْتَاجُ إِلَى مَوْعِدٍ مُنَاسِبٍ.
اتَّفَقْنَا عَلَى الْأَرْبِعَاءِ الْقَادِمِ، وَبَقِيَ طَلَبُ النَّقْلِ فِي مَسَارِهِ الْمُعْتَادِ. عِنْدَ الْبَابِ، اسْتَوْقَفَهُ زَمِيلٌ يَحْمِلُ أَوْرَاقًا، فَفَتَحَ الدَّفْتَرَ مِنْ جَدِيدٍ. جَمَعْتُ الْمِلْعَقَتَيْنِ، ثُمَّ طَوَيْتُ الْمِنْدِيلَ الْأَحْمَرَ وَأَعَدْتُهُ إِلَى عُلْبَتِي. لَمْ أَتْرُكْهُ عَلَى الْكُرْسِيِّ هَذِهِ الْمَرَّةَ. كَتَبْتُ الْمَوْعِدَ فِي هَاتِفِي، وَتَرَكْتُ لَهُ مَجَالًا لِيُؤَكِّدَهُ بَعْدَ مُرَاجَعَةِ جَدْوَلِهِ.
Show English translationHide English translation
When Faris became the head of our department, I congratulated him and said that nothing would change between us. We used to open our lunch tins by the window and share bread and complaints. But the opposite chair became empty on most days. I left a spoon and a red napkin on it, as though reserving the place obliged its owner to return. I watched his access card open the managers’ room and called it distance.
I sent him a question about our lunches. He apologised and suggested Monday. Before the appointment, I added a message about my request to transfer to another team. I was not merely asking for information; I expected him to speed things up. When he did not reply, I counted his silence as a second piece of evidence, without considering how the two messages differed or in what capacity he was reading each one.
On Monday he came with his old metal tin and a new notebook. He explained that management meetings extended into lunchtime, then closed the notebook. I asked about the transfer, and he said he could explain the steps, not bypass them for my sake. His answer sounded formal to me; yet I had been the one to bring the new job into our conversation by the window.
Lunch did not dispel all my frustration. I missed the old chance encounters, and his new times did not always suit me. But I could no longer combine that loss and the delay to my request into a single complaint. I told him I missed sitting with him, and he suggested Monday every two weeks. I asked to try Wednesday: the day he had proposed suited only him. I also needed a suitable time.
We agreed on the following Wednesday, and the transfer request remained on its usual course. At the door, a colleague carrying papers stopped him, and he opened the notebook again. I gathered the two spoons, then folded the red napkin and returned it to my tin. I did not leave it on the chair this time. I entered the appointment in my phone and left him room to confirm it after checking his schedule.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| هَنَّأْتُهُ | I congratulated him |
| حَجْزَ الْمَكَانِ | reserving the place |
| يُلْزِمُ | obliges |
| ابْتِعَادًا | distancing himself |
| يُسَرِّعَ | speed up |
| صِفَتِهِ | his capacity; role |
| تَجَاوُزَهَا | bypassing them |
| يُبَدِّدِ | dispel |
| الْمُصَادَفَاتُ | chance encounters |
| اسْتَوْقَفَهُ | stopped him |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer per question. Follow the details, shifts in perspective and limits of what the characters know. Open the English support when needed.
What to remember
- The narrator’s sense of lost friendship is real, but he initially blends it with an expectation of privileged workplace access.
- The new lunch arrangement respects competing schedules without restoring the old routine or changing the transfer process.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Arabic Prepositions with Pronouns: To Me, On Me and With Us
أَرْسَلْتُ إِلَيْهِ سُؤَالًا
Follow ilayhi to identify Faris as the recipient of the narrator’s message.
Lam in Arabic: How to Say “Did Not”
لَمْ أَتْرُكْهُ عَلَى الْكُرْسِيِّ
Read lam plus the jussive as a past denial of leaving the napkin on the chair.
