The building’s quiet tenant acquires a label before his neighbours know him. A repair day shows cooperation without explaining his private life.
01Read the Arabic story
الْمُسْتَأْجِرُ الْهَادِئُ الَّذِي سَمَّاهُ الْجَمِيعُ مُتَكَبِّرًا
كُنْتُ أُعَلِّقُ مَوَاعِيدَ تَنْظِيفِ الدَّرَجِ عَلَى لَوْحَةِ الْبِنَايَةِ، وَأَعْرِفُ مَنْ يَقِفُ لِلْحَدِيثِ بَعْدَ قِرَاءَتِهَا. أَمَّا الْمُسْتَأْجِرُ الْجَدِيدُ فَكَانَ يُحَيِّينَا بِصَوْتٍ مُنْخَفِضٍ ثُمَّ يَصْعَدُ. دَعَوْنَاهُ إِلَى الشَّايِ، فَشَكَرَنَا وَلَمْ يَجْلِسْ. قَالَ جَارٌ إِنَّهُ مُتَكَبِّرٌ، وَرَدَّدْنَا الْوَصْفَ حَتَّى صَارَ كَأَنَّهُ اسْمُهُ. لَمْ يَكُنْ لَدَيَّ عَنْهُ إِلَّا هَذِهِ الْوَقَفَاتُ الْقَصِيرَةُ عِنْدَ بَابِهِ.
وَجَدْتُ طَرْدًا أَمَامَ شَقَّتِي وَعَلَيْهِ رَقْمُ شَقَّتِهِ. حَمَلْتُهُ إِلَيْهِ، فَشَكَرَنِي وَأَشَارَ إِلَى صُنْدُوقٍ تُرِكَ عَلَى الدَّرَجِ. طَلَبَ أَنْ أُضِيفَ إِلَى اللَّوْحَةِ تَذْكِيرًا بِإِبْقَاءِ الْمَمَرِّ خَالِيًا. ظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ يَبْحَثُ عَنْ خَطَأٍ فِي عَمَلِي. لَكِنَّهُ نَقَلَ الصُّنْدُوقَ إِلَى جَانِبِ الْمَدْخَلِ، وَسَأَلَنِي عَمَّنْ سَيُثَبِّتُ حَاجِزَ الدَّرَجِ الْمُرْتَخِيَ قَبْلَ يَوْمِ التَّنْظِيفِ.
فِي صَبَاحِ السَّبْتِ، جَاءَ بِمِفَكٍّ وَمِيزَانِ تَسْوِيَةٍ صَغِيرٍ. فَحَصَ الْحَاجِزَ مَعَ الْجَارِ الَّذِي وَصَفَهُ بِالتَّكَبُّرِ، وَشَدَّا الْمِسْمَارَ الْمُرْتَخِيَ. لَمْ يُصْبِحِ الْمُسْتَأْجِرُ كَثِيرَ الْكَلَامِ. حِينَ اقْتَرَحْتُ أَنْ نُنَادِيَهُ مِنَ الْمَدْخَلِ فِي الْمَرَّةِ الْقَادِمَةِ، طَلَبَ مَوْعِدًا مَكْتُوبًا يُتْرَكُ عِنْدَ بَابِهِ. كَتَبْتُ الطَّلَبَ، وَكَانَ عَلَيَّ أَنْ أَتَذَكَّرَ أَنْ أُوصِلَ الْوَرَقَةَ لَا أَنْ أُعَلِّقَهَا فَقَطْ.
بَعْدَ الْعَمَلِ، أَرَادَ الْجَارُ صُورَةً لِنَشْرِهَا فِي مَجْمُوعَةِ السُّكَّانِ. وَقَفْتُ قُرْبَ الْحَاجِزِ، لَكِنَّ الْمُسْتَأْجِرَ اعْتَذَرَ عَنِ الصُّورَةِ. بَدَأْتُ أَقُولُ إِنَّهُ خَجُولٌ، ثُمَّ تَوَقَّفْتُ. لَمْ يَقُلْ ذَلِكَ، وَلَمْ يَطْلُبْ مِنِّي شَرْحَ صَمْتِهِ لِلْآخَرِينَ. صَوَّرْنَا الْحَاجِزَ وَالْأَدَوَاتِ، وَكَتَبْتُ أَنَّ جَارَيْنِ أَصْلَحَاهُ. قَالَ جَارُنَا إِنَّ الصُّورَةَ أَقَلُّ حَيَوِيَّةً، لَكِنَّهُ أَرْسَلَهَا كَمَا هِيَ.
فِي الْأُسْبُوعِ التَّالِي، تَرَكْتُ مَوْعِدَ الْعَمَلِ تَحْتَ بَابِهِ. أَعَادَ الْوَرَقَةَ وَعَلَيْهَا وَقْتٌ يُنَاسِبُهُ، وَلَمْ يُضِفْ سَبَبًا لِلْوَقْتِ. حِينَ سَأَلَنِي جَارُنَا لِمَاذَا لَا يَجْلِسُ مَعَنَا، قُلْتُ إِنَّنِي لَا أَعْرِفُ. مَرَّ الْمُسْتَأْجِرُ فَحَيَّانَا، وَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ لَوْنِ الطِّلَاءِ الْمُنَاسِبِ لِلْحَاجِزِ. تَوَقَّفَ لِيَنْظُرَ إِلَيْهِ. بَقِيَ بَابُهُ مُغْلَقًا، وَبَقِيَ لَنَا عَمَلٌ نَسْتَطِيعُ الْحَدِيثَ عَنْهُ.
Show English translationHide English translation
I used to put stair-cleaning times on the building’s noticeboard, and knew who would stop to talk after reading it. The new tenant greeted us quietly, then went upstairs. We invited him for tea; he thanked us but did not sit down. A neighbour said he was proud, and we repeated the description until it seemed to become his name. All I knew of him came from those brief pauses at his door.
I found a parcel outside my flat bearing his flat’s number. I carried it to him. He thanked me and pointed to a box left on the stairs, asking me to add a reminder to the board about keeping the passage clear. I thought he was looking for a fault in my work. Yet he moved the box beside the entrance and asked who would secure the loose stair rail before cleaning day.
On Saturday morning he came with a screwdriver and a small spirit level. He inspected the rail with the neighbour who had called him proud, and they tightened the loose screw. The tenant did not become talkative. When I suggested calling him from the entrance next time, he requested a written time left at his door. I wrote down the request. I would need to remember to deliver the paper, not merely put it on the board.
After the work, the neighbour wanted a photograph to post in the residents’ group. I stood beside the rail, but the tenant declined the photograph. I began to say he was shy, then stopped. He had not said that, nor asked me to explain his silence to others. We photographed the rail and tools, and I wrote that two neighbours had repaired it. Our neighbour said the picture was less lively, but sent it as it was.
The following week I left the work time beneath his door. He returned the paper with a time that suited him, adding no reason for it. When our neighbour asked why he did not sit with us, I said I did not know. The tenant passed and greeted us; I asked him about a suitable paint colour for the rail. He stopped to look at it. His door remained closed, and we still had work we could discuss.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| مُتَكَبِّرٌ | arrogant; haughty |
| طَرْدًا | a parcel |
| وَعَلَيْهِ | and on it |
| تَذْكِيرًا | a reminder |
| الْمُرْتَخِيَ | the loose; the slack |
| بِمِفَكٍّ | with a screwdriver |
| وَمِيزَانِ تَسْوِيَةٍ | and a spirit level |
| خَجُولٌ | shy |
| حَيَوِيَّةً | liveliness |
| الطِّلَاءِ | paint |
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 tenant’s repair work is observable; the reasons for his quietness remain unknown.
- Respecting a preferred form of contact creates cooperation without requiring a personal explanation.
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
وَكَانَ عَلَيَّ أَنْ أَتَذَكَّرَ
Read alayya as an obligation on the speaker to deliver the written notice.
Lakinna and Lakin in Arabic: Two Patterns for But
لَكِنَّ الْمُسْتَأْجِرَ اعْتَذَرَ عَنِ الصُّورَةِ
Use lakinna to contrast the narrator’s pose with the tenant’s refusal of the photograph.
