Author: Aya Yusif
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Adnan, Unredacted: Somebody Should’ve Seen Me in the Kitchen
At 2:15 PM, I removed the extra “haha” that I had written on the work group chat. Earlier that morning, at around 10:00 AM, I had found out that Khaled got promoted. Khaled. My coworker who does, more or less, the exact same job I do. Apparently, he “needed the opportunity more.” Which, translated loosely…
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Adnan, Unredacted: Please Ignore the Background Noise
I woke up to the sound of my window glass rattling. Not shaking, not the kind of sound you can flip to the other side and ignore. I opened my eyes and stayed there for a second, looking at the ceiling as if it might have anything new to offer. Then I reached for my…
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Adnan, Unredacted: Somewhere Between Olive Trees and Office Desks
“So who do you prefer, this bad guy or the other awful guy?” I heard my coworker asking as he suddenly appeared behind my chair, the way someone might present a clever riddle. Maybe it was spontaneous. Maybe it was meant to be provocative. I am not sure. But this is how I heard it. …
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Adnan, Unredacted: The View from This Table
A green hat, a black fur coat, long black boots. She sits by the window, stirring her coffee without drinking it. A man in a puffy red jacket sits next to her. A third joins them a moment later, tugging off a gray scarf and carrying a large gift bag. The man in the scarf…
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Adnan, Unredacted: On Sounding Normal in Public
Theory about voice changing.Can a person speak in different voices?Is it normal to talk in two different voices? This was my search history for the day. I only noticed it later, when I got home and sat on my bed, tapping through Instagram, then WhatsApp, then a half-open browser tab I didn’t remember opening, while…
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Adnan, Unredacted: A year in Reviews, From the Basement Office
Today, dear reader, I think it’s time to lift the curtain a little and let you in on a part of my life I usually keep to myself. You’re probably wondering: “What does Adnan even do all day?” Well, today’s your lucky day, because it’s the most hectic time of the year – the one…
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Adnan, Unredacted: Adnan’s Guide to Overhearing a Breakdown, Politely
I swear I didn’t mean to be this curious. But here I am, muting my TV so I can listen to someone’s sobbing. It started innocently, I swear. I was just about to take my after-work nap when I heard someone’s voice crack into tears. You know that sound? The one that comes right before…
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Adnan, Unredacted: Local Man Finds Sock, Feels Nothing
“Breaking news!!! I just lost a sock.” My mind kept repeating as I searched the whole house – under the bed, behind the washing machine. Even in places that made no sense: the freezer, the cabinet under the sink, the bookshelf in the living room. Instead of the sock, all I managed to find was…
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Adnan, Unredacted: The Idiot Behind This
I’ve been trying to write lists to control my thoughts: 1. Drink water. 2. Pay rent. 3. Make enough money to pay rent? 4. Do not collapse. But these lists collapse before I do. I’ve been writing for two hours, hoping you’ll read till the very last word without getting bored or wondering who the…