An author cousin asks for a coat before a public reading. His relative starts imagining a larger crisis, then receives a much more specific request for help.
01Read the Arabic story
ابْنُ عَمِّي النَّاجِحُ الَّذِي اسْتَعَارَ مِعْطَفِي
جَاءَ ابْنُ عَمِّي نَبِيلٌ قَبْلَ الْأَمْسِيَةِ الَّتِي سَيَقْرَأُ فِيهَا مِنْ كِتَابِهِ الْجَدِيدِ، وَسَأَلَنِي إِنْ كَانَ يُمْكِنُهُ اسْتِعَارَةُ مِعْطَفِي. كُنْتُ قَدْ رَأَيْتُ صُورَتَهُ عَلَى إِعْلَانِ الْأَمْسِيَةِ: اِبْتِسَامَةٌ هَادِئَةٌ وَاسْمٌ بِحُرُوفٍ كَبِيرَةٍ. لَمْ أَتَوَقَّعْ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ هَذَا الِاسْمُ إِلَى بَابِي طَالِبًا شَيْئًا مِنْ خِزَانَتِي. كَانَ الْمِعْطَفُ مَعِي، أَمَّا حَيَاتُهُ فَبَدَتْ لِي مُكْتَمِلَةً.
أَخْرَجْتُهُ وَانْتَبَهْتُ إِلَى زِرٍّ رَخْوٍ. قَالَ نَبِيلٌ إِنَّهُ سَيَكُونُ حَذِرًا، وَإِنَّ مِعْطَفَهُ بَقِيَ فِي سَيَّارَتِهِ عِنْدَ الْمُصَلِّحِ. لَمْ أَسْأَلْهُ عَنِ السَّيَّارَةِ؛ رُحْتُ أَبْحَثُ فِي وَجْهِهِ عَنْ مُشْكِلَةٍ أَكْبَرَ. حَتَّى تَفْسِيرُهُ الْعَادِيُّ صَارَ، فِي قِرَاءَتِي، مُحَاوَلَةً لِإِخْفَاءِ شَيْءٍ. وَكُنْتُ قَرِيبًا مِنْ عَرْضِ الْمَالِ، دُونَ أَنْ يَذْكُرَ الْمَالَ أَصْلًا.
وَقَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْرُجَ، سَأَلَنِي إِنْ كَانَ النَّاسُ سَيَحْضُرُونَ. أَجَبْتُ أَنَّ الدَّعَوَاتِ وُزِّعَتْ، فَهَزَّ رَأْسَهُ وَأَعَادَ فَحْصَ وَرَقَتِهِ. كَانَ صَوْتُهُ مُتَرَدِّدًا، لَكِنَّ سُؤَالَهُ لَمْ يُخْبِرْنِي بِمَا يَكْسَبُهُ، وَلَا بِمَا يَخْسَرُهُ. طَلَبَ أَنْ أَجْلِسَ قُرْبَ الْخَلْفِ لِأُشِيرَ إِلَيْهِ إِذَا ضَعُفَ الصَّوْتُ. هَذِهِ مَرَّةٌ أُخْرَى يَحْتَاجُ فِيهَا إِلَى مُسَاعَدَتِي، وَهَذِهِ الْمَرَّةَ عَرَفْتُ مَا يَطْلُبُهُ.
فِي الْقَاعَةِ، قَرَأَ نَبِيلٌ بِهُدُوءٍ وَأَجَابَ عَنِ الْأَسْئِلَةِ. أَشَرْتُ إِلَيْهِ مَرَّةً، فَاقْتَرَبَ مِنَ الْمِيكْرُوفُونِ دُونَ أَنْ يَقْطَعَ جُمْلَتَهُ. بَعْدَ التَّصْفِيقِ، طَلَبَ بَعْضُ الْحَاضِرِينَ تَوْقِيعَهُ، وَانْتَظَرْتُ عِنْدَ الْبَابِ. لَمْ تُبْطِلْ هَذِهِ اللَّحْظَةُ سُؤَالَهُ فِي بَيْتِي، وَلَمْ يَجْعَلِ السُّؤَالُ التَّصْفِيقَ كَاذِبًا. وَحِينَ رَفَعَ يَدَهُ لِيُحَيِّيَنِي، رَأَيْتُ كُمَّ مِعْطَفِي قَبْلَ أَنْ أَنْتَبِهَ إِلَى وَجْهِهِ.
فِي الصَّبَاحِ، أَعَادَ الْمِعْطَفَ وَالزِّرَّ الَّذِي سَقَطَ فَحَفِظَهُ فِي الْجَيْبِ. سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الْأَسْئِلَةِ بَدَلًا مِنْ سُؤَالِهِ إِنْ كَانَ بِخَيْرٍ. قَالَ إِنَّ سُؤَالًا وَاحِدًا جَعَلَهُ يُرِيدُ تَغْيِيرَ بِدَايَةِ الْكِتَابِ، وَأَخْرَجَ الْوَرَقَةَ نَفْسَهَا. وَضَعْتُ الْمِعْطَفَ عَلَى ظَهْرِ الْكُرْسِيِّ وَجَلَسْتُ لِأَسْمَعَ الْبِدَايَةَ الْجَدِيدَةَ. بَقِيَ الزِّرُّ فِي الْجَيْبِ، وَكَانَ صَوْتُ نَبِيلٍ أَقْرَبَ هَذِهِ الْمَرَّةَ.
Show English translationHide English translation
My cousin Nabil came before the evening event at which he would read from his new book and asked whether he could borrow my coat. I had seen his picture on the event poster: a calm smile and a name in large letters. I had not expected that name to come to my door asking for something from my wardrobe. The coat was with me; his life had seemed complete to me.
I took it out and noticed a loose button. Nabil said he would be careful and that his coat had stayed in his car at the garage. I did not ask about the car; I started searching his face for a larger problem. Even his ordinary explanation became, in my reading, an attempt to hide something. I was close to offering money, although he had not mentioned money at all.
Before leaving, he asked whether people would attend. I answered that the invitations had been distributed, and he nodded and checked his sheet again. His voice was hesitant, but his question did not tell me what he earned or what he lost. He asked me to sit near the back and signal if his voice became faint. Here was another occasion when he needed my help, and this time I knew what he was requesting.
In the hall Nabil read calmly and answered questions. I signalled once, and he moved closer to the microphone without breaking his sentence. After the applause, some attendees asked for his signature, and I waited by the door. This moment did not cancel his question in my home, nor did that question make the applause false. When he raised his hand to greet me, I saw my coat sleeve before noticing his face.
In the morning he returned the coat and the button that had fallen off and that he had kept in the pocket. I asked about the questions instead of asking whether he was all right. He said one question had made him want to change the book’s opening, and took out the same sheet. I put the coat on the back of the chair and sat to hear the new opening. The button stayed in the pocket, and Nabil’s voice was closer this time.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| اسْتِعَارَةُ | borrowing |
| خِزَانَتِي | my wardrobe |
| رَخْوٍ | loose; not firmly attached |
| الْمُصَلِّحِ | the mechanic; repairer |
| لِإِخْفَاءِ | to hide |
| الدَّعَوَاتِ | the invitations |
| مُتَرَدِّدًا | hesitant |
| التَّصْفِيقِ | the applause |
| كُمَّ | the sleeve of |
| الْجَيْبِ | the pocket |
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
- An ordinary request and a hesitant question do not establish a cousin’s entire financial or private life.
- The private question and the successful reading both remain part of the same person’s experience.
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
الْأَمْسِيَةِ الَّتِي سَيَقْرَأُ فِيهَا
Connect the feminine evening event to the clause describing the planned reading.
Kana in Arabic: Was and Were
كَانَ صَوْتُهُ مُتَرَدِّدًا
Identify the voice as kana’s noun and the accusative adjective as its past description.
