سعيد رضوان حران
02/06/2007, 06:42 PM
Shadows
An intense blackness suddenly fell down on me. I was frightened to death, and things around were all motionless. My eyes were aiming everywhere. I looked more than a terrified cat. At first blush, I could not tell whether the light had fled only my house or, moreover, the whole neighborhood. I had to take some brave steps to the window and unveil it. Outside, darkness was restlessly spreading. I felt a catastrophe had just taken place. I was alone. Very hard it was on me.
Carefully, I started towards the kitchen. My hands were searching for the wall, and my feet were going too slowly on the floor. I was not afraid that I might hit upon something which I could accidentally break or be, myself, hurt by. But I fancied that a ghost, at least, would show up and start toying with me at its discretion. I set myself annoyed, thus, with nothing but the simple question of why ghosts would appear only in the dark.
Fear was more forcing me on. The kitchen was drowning deep in darkness. Nothing I could hear but the noise of vessels when my hand would run against some of them. “Where could the box of matches be?! Damn! It is hard to me to see things in the light. How can I see them in the dark?!” I sincerely thanked God for being still able to think. I thought of calling my neighbor through the kitchen window. But I simply did not. He would know that I was frightened and might, therefore, laugh at me in his secret. He might do that openly when the light would spread through each part of the house and remind me of what I could have committed.
“Oh! The telephone! If I could just reach it in its distant world, the bedroom, I would soon ask them to come back. I could easily fabricate an excuse to let them do.” The idea was only seconds of age. “The clock! But I do not think I may remember a single number of. I wonder if I will be able to keep waiting for them in this dark!”
My hand was still encroaching upon things everywhere in search of the box of matches. Sticky things, which I did not try to get at their fact, sometimes blocked its way. Pleasant, cool water! I left my fingers in.
I lighted one matchstick; another; I started searching for the candles. I found them and soon lighted one. Carefully, I carried it to the sitting room. I set it before the television screen to gain more light. I sat down. I was exhausted. I tried to assume the smile of someone afraid of the dark. “When the house will suddenly be filled with light, I will grin from ear to ear, and admit I have been a fool. I will admit that I am even more than a fool if only the light comes! If they were here, I would very much laugh, and the whole matter would look a kind of change. But I am alone!” I went closer to the candle. Maybe I felt cold. It was about to fall down. I looked at the wall while I was stabilizing it. The shadow of my hand, which seemed to be picturing a strange animal, was huge. I recalled childhood nights. We used to gather around the candles when the light was off and make many shapes with our fingers and watch them forming on the walls: strange animals, ghosts and trees. We would issue uncommon sounds to give the impression that they were made by those shadows. And we would all laugh, knowing that we were inviting laughter.
I do not know why I started to move my hand and watch its shadows play on the wall. Sometimes, I could not determine the shapes. At other times, they looked to me like trees, clouds and animals. But most of the time, they were taking the form of horrible ghosts. It was no pleasure to me. I was afraid. Maybe it was an innocent fear, but it was possessing me. Rapidly I took my hand back and hid it in my bosom. But it was only moments later when I felt, somehow, that I liked to free it. I moved my thumb forward. I hid my index finger and set the others half bent. I looked at the wall the time I started moving them slowly. Their shadows frightened me– a dog springing from the middle of the wall with its tongue aiming at me. “Why are they so late?! When can the light be back?! I am very thirsty. I can stay no longer!” The dog was barking at me. Other shadows were impudently laughing and laughing. I hid my hand again. But they were getting bigger! They were freeing themselves and getting at me! Immediately I reached the candle and strongly blew it out. Back to the heart of darkness! The dog became dumb, and the shadows were gone. I took a deep breath, and I sat waiting quietly for something to happen.
ترجمة : سعيد رضوان حران
مؤلف القصة بالعربية : أيمن خالد دراوشة
An intense blackness suddenly fell down on me. I was frightened to death, and things around were all motionless. My eyes were aiming everywhere. I looked more than a terrified cat. At first blush, I could not tell whether the light had fled only my house or, moreover, the whole neighborhood. I had to take some brave steps to the window and unveil it. Outside, darkness was restlessly spreading. I felt a catastrophe had just taken place. I was alone. Very hard it was on me.
Carefully, I started towards the kitchen. My hands were searching for the wall, and my feet were going too slowly on the floor. I was not afraid that I might hit upon something which I could accidentally break or be, myself, hurt by. But I fancied that a ghost, at least, would show up and start toying with me at its discretion. I set myself annoyed, thus, with nothing but the simple question of why ghosts would appear only in the dark.
Fear was more forcing me on. The kitchen was drowning deep in darkness. Nothing I could hear but the noise of vessels when my hand would run against some of them. “Where could the box of matches be?! Damn! It is hard to me to see things in the light. How can I see them in the dark?!” I sincerely thanked God for being still able to think. I thought of calling my neighbor through the kitchen window. But I simply did not. He would know that I was frightened and might, therefore, laugh at me in his secret. He might do that openly when the light would spread through each part of the house and remind me of what I could have committed.
“Oh! The telephone! If I could just reach it in its distant world, the bedroom, I would soon ask them to come back. I could easily fabricate an excuse to let them do.” The idea was only seconds of age. “The clock! But I do not think I may remember a single number of. I wonder if I will be able to keep waiting for them in this dark!”
My hand was still encroaching upon things everywhere in search of the box of matches. Sticky things, which I did not try to get at their fact, sometimes blocked its way. Pleasant, cool water! I left my fingers in.
I lighted one matchstick; another; I started searching for the candles. I found them and soon lighted one. Carefully, I carried it to the sitting room. I set it before the television screen to gain more light. I sat down. I was exhausted. I tried to assume the smile of someone afraid of the dark. “When the house will suddenly be filled with light, I will grin from ear to ear, and admit I have been a fool. I will admit that I am even more than a fool if only the light comes! If they were here, I would very much laugh, and the whole matter would look a kind of change. But I am alone!” I went closer to the candle. Maybe I felt cold. It was about to fall down. I looked at the wall while I was stabilizing it. The shadow of my hand, which seemed to be picturing a strange animal, was huge. I recalled childhood nights. We used to gather around the candles when the light was off and make many shapes with our fingers and watch them forming on the walls: strange animals, ghosts and trees. We would issue uncommon sounds to give the impression that they were made by those shadows. And we would all laugh, knowing that we were inviting laughter.
I do not know why I started to move my hand and watch its shadows play on the wall. Sometimes, I could not determine the shapes. At other times, they looked to me like trees, clouds and animals. But most of the time, they were taking the form of horrible ghosts. It was no pleasure to me. I was afraid. Maybe it was an innocent fear, but it was possessing me. Rapidly I took my hand back and hid it in my bosom. But it was only moments later when I felt, somehow, that I liked to free it. I moved my thumb forward. I hid my index finger and set the others half bent. I looked at the wall the time I started moving them slowly. Their shadows frightened me– a dog springing from the middle of the wall with its tongue aiming at me. “Why are they so late?! When can the light be back?! I am very thirsty. I can stay no longer!” The dog was barking at me. Other shadows were impudently laughing and laughing. I hid my hand again. But they were getting bigger! They were freeing themselves and getting at me! Immediately I reached the candle and strongly blew it out. Back to the heart of darkness! The dog became dumb, and the shadows were gone. I took a deep breath, and I sat waiting quietly for something to happen.
ترجمة : سعيد رضوان حران
مؤلف القصة بالعربية : أيمن خالد دراوشة