Four private signatures seem to settle an anonymous review until its drafts are read together.
01Read the Arabic story
الْمُرَاجَعَةُ الْمَجْهُولَةُ الَّتِي وَقَّعَهَا الْجَمِيعُ
كَتَبَتْ مَرْيَمُ مَعَ ثَلَاثَةِ جِيرَانٍ مُرَاجَعَةً لِوَرْشَةِ الْحِرَفِ فِي حَيِّهِمْ. وَكَانَ كُلٌّ مِنْهُمْ يَسْتَخْدِمُهَا مَرَّةً كُلَّ أُسْبُوعٍ. اِتَّفَقُوا عَلَى أَلَّا تُنْشَرَ أَسْمَاؤُهُمْ؛ أَرَادُوا أَنْ يَقْرَأَ صَاحِبُ الْوَرْشَةِ الْمُلَاحَظَاتِ دُونَ أَنْ يُحَوِّلَهَا إِلَى عِتَابٍ بَيْنَ مَعَارِفَ. وَقَّعَ الْأَرْبَعَةُ وَرَقَةً تَحْمِلُ عُنْوَانَ الْمُرَاجَعَةِ. عِنْدَ جَمْعِ الْأَوْرَاقِ، قَالَ مَازِنٌ بِارْتِيَاحٍ: «هَكَذَا لَنْ يَشْعُرَ أَحَدٌ أَنَّهُ مُسْتَهْدَفٌ».
كَانَتْ مَرْيَمُ مَسْؤُولَةً عَنِ التَّحْرِيرِ، فَرَتَّبَتِ الْمُسَوَّدَاتِ وَفْقَ أَرْقَامِهَا. وَجَدَتْ عَلَى الْأُولَى جُمْلَةَ لَيْلَى: «نَحْتَاجُ إِلَى طَاوِلَةٍ ثَانِيَةٍ». فِي الثَّالِثَةِ، صَارَتِ الْجُمْلَةُ «قُرْبُ الْمَقَاعِدِ يُشَجِّعُ التَّعَاوُنَ». لَمْ تَكُنِ الْعِبَارَةُ الْجَدِيدَةُ كَذِبًا؛ تَذَكَّرَتْ مَرْيَمُ كَيْفَ نَاوَلَتْ نَبِيلًا أَدَاةً بِسُهُولَةٍ. لَكِنَّهَا تَذَكَّرَتْ أَيْضًا انْتِظَارَ لَيْلَى دَوْرَهَا وَهِيَ تَحْمِلُ لَوْحًا.
سَأَلَتْهُمْ أَيَّ نُسْخَةٍ قَرَؤُوا قَبْلَ التَّوْقِيعِ. قَالَ مَازِنٌ إِنَّهُ قَرَأَ الثَّانِيَةَ، وَقَالَتْ لَيْلَى إِنَّ الْأُولَى كَانَتْ أَمَامَهَا. أَمَّا نَبِيلٌ فَقَرَأَ الثَّالِثَةَ وَظَنَّ أَنَّ تَوْقِيعَهُ يَعْنِي الْمُوَافَقَةَ عَلَى إِخْفَاءِ اسْمِهِ. قَرَأَتْ مَرْيَمُ الْعُنْوَانَ فِي وَرَقَةِ التَّوْقِيعَاتِ: كَانَ يَجْمَعُهُمْ، لَكِنَّهُ لَمْ يَقُلْ مَا الَّذِي وَافَقَ عَلَيْهِ كُلٌّ مِنْهُمْ.
قَالَ مَازِنٌ: «صِيَاغَةُ التَّعَاوُنِ أَلْطَفُ. الْمَكَانُ ضَيِّقٌ، لَكِنَّ صَاحِبَ الْوَرْشَةِ صَبُورٌ فِعْلًا». لَمْ تَعْتَرِضْ مَرْيَمُ عَلَى صَبْرِهِ. وَضَعَتْ قَلَمًا عَلَى جُمْلَةِ الطَّاوِلَةِ، وَسَأَلَتْ لَيْلَى إِنْ كَانَتْ لَا تَزَالُ تَطْلُبُهَا. قَالَتْ لَيْلَى: «نَعَمْ، وَصَبْرُهُ لَا يُوَسِّعُ الطَّاوِلَةَ». رَسَمَ نَبِيلٌ مُسْتَطِيلَيْنِ صَغِيرَيْنِ يُمَثِّلَانِ الطَّاوِلَتَيْنِ فِي الْهَامِشِ، وَسَأَلَ إِنْ كَانَ الْمَكَانُ يَتَّسِعُ لَهُمَا.
أَعَادَتْ مَرْيَمُ الطَّلَبَ إِلَى النَّصِّ، وَأَبْقَتْ جُمْلَةَ التَّعَاوُنِ بَعْدَهُ. ثُمَّ قَرَأَتِ الْمُرَاجَعَةَ بِصَوْتٍ مَسْمُوعٍ، وَجَعَلَتْ وَرَقَةَ التَّوْقِيعَاتِ الْقَدِيمَةَ تَحْتَ الْمُسَوَّدَاتِ. لَمْ تُرْسِلْ شَيْئًا بَعْدُ. حِينَ مَدَّ مَازِنٌ يَدَهُ إِلَى الْقَلَمِ، طَلَبَتْ مِنْهُ أَنْ يُشِيرَ أَوَّلًا إِلَى الْجُمْلَةِ الَّتِي يَقْصِدُهَا. خَارِجَ النَّصِّ سَتَبْقَى الْأَسْمَاءُ خَفِيَّةً؛ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ، صَارَ لِلْمُوَافَقَةِ مَكَانٌ مُحَدَّدٌ.
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Maryam wrote a review of their neighbourhood craft workshop with three neighbours. Each of them used it once a week. They agreed that their names should not be published; they wanted the workshop owner to read the comments without turning them into personal reproaches among acquaintances. All four signed a sheet bearing the review's title. As they gathered the papers, Mazin said with relief, “This way nobody will feel targeted.”
Maryam was responsible for editing, so she arranged the drafts by their numbers. On the first she found Layla's sentence: “We need a second table.” In the third, the sentence had become “The closeness of the seats encourages collaboration.” The new wording was not a lie; Maryam remembered how she had easily handed Nabil a tool. But she also remembered Layla waiting her turn while holding a board.
She asked them which version they had read before signing. Mazin said he had read the second, and Layla said that the first had been in front of her. Nabil, however, had read the third and thought his signature meant agreement to conceal his name. Maryam read the title on the signature sheet: it brought them together, but did not say what each of them had agreed to.
Mazin said, “The collaboration wording is kinder. The place is cramped, but the workshop owner really is patient.” Maryam did not object to his patience. She placed a pencil on the sentence about the table and asked Layla whether she was still requesting it. Layla said, “Yes, and his patience doesn't make the table wider.” Nabil drew two small rectangles representing the two tables in the margin and asked whether the space could accommodate them.
Maryam restored the request to the text and kept the collaboration sentence after it. Then she read the review aloud and put the old signature sheet beneath the drafts. She had not sent anything yet. When Mazin reached for the pen, she asked him first to point to the sentence he meant. Outside the text the names would remain hidden; on the table, approval now had a specific place.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| مُرَاجَعَةً | a review |
| عِتَابٍ | personal reproach |
| مُسْتَهْدَفٌ | targeted |
| مَسْؤُولَةً | responsible |
| الْمُسَوَّدَاتِ | the drafts |
| صِيَاغَةُ | the wording of |
| التَّعَاوُنَ | collaboration |
| إِخْفَاءِ | concealing |
| الْهَامِشِ | the margin |
| يُشِيرَ | point to |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer per question. Track voices, omissions and competing accounts. Choose the reading best supported by the Arabic text.
What to remember
- The signatures refer to different drafts and do not establish one shared approval.
- A true compliment need not replace a practical request; the final review is still awaiting clear approval.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Kana in Arabic: Was and Were
كَانَتْ مَرْيَمُ مَسْؤُولَةً عَنِ التَّحْرِيرِ
Kanat places Maryam's responsibility in the past: Maryam is nominative and the description is accusative.
Lakinna and Lakin in Arabic: Two Patterns for But
لَكِنَّ صَاحِبَ الْوَرْشَةِ صَبُورٌ فِعْلًا
Lakinna qualifies the cramped setting with a contrasting description: its noun is accusative and patient is nominative.
