A final blank on a family donation form invites a different kind of participation.
01Read the Arabic story
آخِرُ تَوْقِيعٍ عَلَى اِسْتِمَارَةِ التَّبَرُّعِ
دَعَانِي خَالِي لِوَضْعِ آخِرِ تَوْقِيعٍ عَلَى اِسْتِمَارَةِ التَّبَرُّعِ بِكُتُبِ جَدِّي لِغُرْفَةِ قِرَاءَةٍ صَغِيرَةٍ. قَالَ: «يَكْفِي أَنْ تُكْمِلَ الصُّورَةَ». كُنْتُ فَخُورًا بِهَذِهِ الدَّعْوَةِ، مَعَ أَنَّنِي لَمْ أَحْمِلْ صُنْدُوقًا وَاحِدًا. وَقَدْ سَبَقَتْ أَسْمَاءُ الْعَائِلَةِ اِسْمِي، فَبَدَا الْفَرَاغُ الْأَخِيرُ مَكَانًا مُعَدًّا لِمَنْ يَحْضُرُ بَعْدَ أَنْ يَنْتَهِيَ الْعَمَلُ وَيَبْدَأَ التَّصْوِيرُ.
كَانَتْ أُخْتِي لَيْلَى قَدْ قَضَتْ شُهُورًا فِي فَرْزِ الْكُتُبِ، وَكَتَبَتْ بِجَانِبِ كُلِّ عُنْوَانٍ مَا يُسَاعِدُ الْقَارِئَ عَلَى اِخْتِيَارِهِ. أَمَّا ابْنُ عَمِّي فَوَعَدَ بِنَقْلِ الصَّنَادِيقِ. جَمَعَتِ الْوَرَقَةُ هَذَا كُلَّهُ تَحْتَ عِبَارَةِ «هَدِيَّةِ الْعَائِلَةِ»، فَأَحْسَسْتُ بِرَاحَةٍ غَرِيبَةٍ: أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ أَنْتَمِيَ إِلَى الْهَدِيَّةِ دُونَ أَنْ أَشْرَحَ حِصَّتِي مِنْهَا. لَمْ تَطْلُبْ لَيْلَى اِسْمًا أَكْبَرَ، لَكِنَّهَا كَانَتْ تُرَاجِعُ الْبِطَاقَاتِ وَنَحْنُ نَتَحَدَّثُ عَنِ الصُّورَةِ.
لَكِنَّ مُدِيرَ الْغُرْفَةِ أَشَارَ إِلَى سَطْرٍ صَغِيرٍ فَوْقَ الْفَرَاغِ: «مَنْ نَتَّصِلُ بِهِ بَعْدَ التَّسْلِيمِ؟» ثُمَّ سَأَلَنِي عَنْ تَرْتِيبِ أَوَّلِ زِيَارَةٍ لِلْقُرَّاءِ. لَمْ يَكُنْ يَطْلُبُ مِنِّي شَرْحَ كُلِّ كِتَابٍ، وَلَا إِدَارَةَ الْمَكَانِ؛ أَرَادَ شَخْصًا يُوَضِّحُ لِلْقُرَّاءِ مَا وَصَلَ وَكَيْفَ يَجِدُونَ الْكُتُبَ. وَصَارَ اِسْمِي الْمُؤَخَّرُ نُقْطَةَ بِدَايَةٍ لِعَمَلٍ آخَرَ.
سَأَلْتُ لَيْلَى إِنْ كَانَتْ تُرِيدُ هَذَا الدَّوْرَ. أَجَابَتْ بِسُؤَالٍ: «هَلْ سَتُقْرَأُ الْكُتُبُ، أَمْ سَتَبْقَى الصَّنَادِيقُ مُغْلَقَةً؟» لَمْ أَفْهَمْ سُؤَالَهَا اِتِّهَامًا، وَلَمْ أَعُدَّهُ إِذْنًا بِالتَّحَدُّثِ نِيَابَةً عَنْهَا. وَضَعْنَا فِهْرِسَهَا أَمَامَنَا، وَاخْتَرْنَا رَفًّا لِأَوَّلِ زِيَارَةٍ. قُلْتُ لِلْمُدِيرِ إِنَّنِي أَسْتَطِيعُ الْحُضُورَ يَوْمَ السَّبْتِ، عَلَى أَنْ نُحَدِّدَ بَعْدَهُ مَنْ يُتَابِعُ الْأَسْئِلَةَ.
كَتَبْتُ مَوْعِدِي بِجَانِبِ تَوْقِيعِي، وَأَضَفْتُ اِسْمَ لَيْلَى إِلَى الْفِهْرِسِ بِمُوَافَقَتِهَا. بَقِيَ مَوْعِدُ النَّقْلِ فِي عُهْدَةِ ابْنِ عَمِّي، فَلَمْ أَعِدْ بِمَا لَا أَمْلِكُهُ. وَحِينَ نَادَانَا خَالِي لِلتَّصْوِيرِ، وَقَفْتُ مَعَهُمْ، ثُمَّ أَخَذْتُ نُسْخَةً مِنَ الْفِهْرِسِ إِلَى الْبَيْتِ. كَانَ عَلَيَّ أَنْ أَعْرِفَ مَا سَأَدُلُّ الْقُرَّاءَ عَلَيْهِ يَوْمَ السَّبْتِ.
Show English translationHide English translation
My uncle invited me to add the last signature to the form donating my grandfather’s books to a small reading room. “Just complete the picture,” he said. I was proud of the invitation, although I had not carried a single box. The family names preceded mine, so the final blank seemed reserved for someone who arrived after the work ended and the photography began.
My sister Layla had spent months sorting the books and had written beside each title something to help a reader choose it. My cousin, meanwhile, had promised to transport the boxes. The form gathered all this under “the family’s gift,” and I felt a strange relief: I could belong to the gift without explaining my share in it. Layla did not ask for a more prominent name, but she was checking the cards while we discussed the photograph.
But the reading room’s director pointed to a small line above the blank: “Whom do we contact after delivery?” Then he asked about arranging the readers’ first visit. He was not asking me to explain every book or run the place; he wanted someone to tell readers what had arrived and how to find the books. My name, placed last, became the starting point for another task.
I asked Layla whether she wanted this role. She answered with a question: “Will the books be read, or will the boxes stay closed?” I did not understand her question as an accusation, nor did I count it as permission to speak on her behalf. We put her catalogue in front of us and chose a shelf for the first visit. I told the director I could come on Saturday, provided we decided afterward who would handle further questions.
I wrote my appointment beside my signature and added Layla’s name to the catalogue with her approval. Transport arrangements remained my cousin’s responsibility, so I did not promise what I could not control. When my uncle called us for the photograph, I stood with them, then took a copy of the catalogue home. I had to know what I would be directing readers to on Saturday.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| اِسْتِمَارَةِ التَّبَرُّعِ | the donation form |
| فَرْزِ الْكُتُبِ | sorting the books |
| حِصَّتِي | my share |
| نَتَّصِلُ بِهِ | we contact him |
| التَّسْلِيمِ | delivery / handover |
| نُقْطَةَ بِدَايَةٍ | a starting point |
| نِيَابَةً عَنْهَا | on her behalf |
| فِهْرِسَهَا | her catalogue |
| فِي عُهْدَةِ | the responsibility of |
| نُسْخَةً | a copy |
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 narrator admits his attraction to shared credit without knowing every relative’s intentions.
- The last signature gains a specific future role; it does not absorb everyone else’s responsibilities.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Arabic Past-Tense Endings: I Wrote, You Wrote and We Wrote
كَتَبْتُ مَوْعِدِي
Use the tu ending to identify the narrator as the doer of the writing.
Arabic Prepositions with Pronouns: To Me, On Me and With Us
كَانَ عَلَيَّ أَنْ أَعْرِفَ
Read alayya as an obligation on the speaker, then identify the task from context.
