Category: Short Story
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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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A Visit To Bjerrin
Kamil had just arrived at Bjerrin, a 100-year-old abandoned village in the Jbeil district of Lebanon, nestled in a rugged valley surrounded by the majestic Mount Lebanon. An old local man named Jalal, who had agreed to help him discover Bjerrin and its ruins, was waiting at the entrance. After they greeted each other, they…
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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…
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Smoke on a Lightbulb
The light-bulb outside my bedroom door was flickering when I first moved in. All the rest were fine, so I simply avoided it. I reasoned that at some point or other it would die out, then I would be in partial darkness for a few days until I managed to convince myself to change it,…
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Fifteen Years Later
Summer had just ended, and it was time to bring out my winter clothes. I had so much work to do – sorting out what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to donate, clearing the layers of accumulated dust, organizing the closets. I started by grabbing some coats, one of which I used…
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The Hero and the Beast
The layers of fur did little to keep out the cold. The hero could feel it in his bones, and though he’d trekked over many a mountain, none had been as ferocious as this one. But despite its harshness, the weather was only half the battle. The hero had also evaded three territorial snow giants,…
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Here Comes The Sun
The beer fizzed in his hand, cold against his burning skin. Jona shut the fridge with a thud, the sound echoing through the hollow house. Sunlight streamed in, uninvited, golden and heavy. It poured across the tiles, traced the counters, and fell against the curtains, which then swayed like they remembered how to dance. Birds…
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Beirut the City, Beirut the Airport
On Transience, Matters of the Heart, Random Encounters, and Other Airport Wonderings It’s 3AM. I’m standing in line for the mundane security check, my head dizzy from the wine and hash. At least this time I made it past check-in, not with plenty of time to spare, but with just enough that I know I’ll…
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I Come Bearing Gifts
Every day, Saai woke up at 5:30 a.m. to pray. He brushed his teeth, showered, combed his hair and beard, wore his olive-green robes, shined his metal legs, and headed to his corner of the bedroom where he connected. Every day, he sat on his modest praying chair, hands on his knees, feeling the smooth…