This is the first in our Palestinian Voices series, featuring work by Palestinian writers and artists, including people who are part of the Palestinian diaspora.
Sugary
The doctors advised him to keep away from sugar. He was over sixty years of age. When he tasted her lips, he died of hyperglycemia.
سكري
نصحه الأطباء بالابتعاد عن تناول السكر. لقد تجاوز الستين من العمر، لكنه ما أن تذوق
شفتيها حتى مات بنوبة من أرتفاع السكر في الدم.
Instigation
He was instantly arrested on charges of threatening civic security.
The dignified broadcaster on TV smiled. “The boy’s mouth is now a restricted military zone,” he announced.
تحريض
صرخ الفتى عاليا: “أحبك.” سرعان ما أ عتقل بتهمة تهديد الامن الاجتماعي، وأعلن المذيع
الوقور من على شاشة التلفاز: “فم الشاب أصبح منطقة عسكرية مغلقة.”
Candle
His father taught him to light a candle instead of cursing the darkness. When he decided to do as his father had taught him, he looked for a candle to light. After an excruciating search, he found a small one, only to realize the light of day had dawned.
شمعة
علمه أباه أن يشعل شمعة بدلا من أن يلعن الظلام. حين قرر أن ينفذ الوصية، بحث عن شمعة
ليشعلها، وبعد عناء ومشقة، وجد شمعة صغيرة، لكن نور الفجر كان قد بزغ.
The Cat with Two Mustaches
I thought I was the most ungodly, virile feline of them all. I felt superior with my beautiful long white whiskers and held my tail high as I sauntered down to the city with the twinkling lights.
On the first day, gorgeous women flirted with me. On the second day, teenage girls idolized me. Flocks of pantywaists and intersexes rushed toward me on the third day, magicians and tricksters adored me on the fourth. By the fifth day, my vanity and pride had overwhelmed me. On the sixth day, envious men chased me. When the seventh day arrived, the master seized the throne; that was the day he found me. Driven by jealousy and rage, he ordered his forces to arrest me. On the eighth day, I was the kitty cat with the plucked-out mustaches.
القط ذو الشاربين
ظننت نفسي الأكثر فحولة بين القطط. ولم لا؟ وانا املك أجمل شاربين. حين نزلت المدينة ذات
الاضواء المتلئلئة، كان كل ما فيها يلمع.
في اليوم الاول غازلتني النساء الجميلات.
في اليوم الثاني احبتني الفتيات المراهقات.
في اليوم الثالث تدافع نحوي المخنثون وانصاف المخنثات.
في اليوم الرابع اعجب بي كل السحرة و ال حواة .
في اليوم الخامس احسست بالخيلاء والزهو.
في اليوم السادس لاحقني جميع الحسودين من الرجال.
في اليوم السابع أستولى السيد على العرش.
نظرحوله بازدراء فوجدني. أوغر الحسد صدره، فأوعز لزبانيته القبض علي.
ومنذ اليوم الثامن اصبحت القطيط المنتوف الشاربين.
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About the writer: Dr. Emad Abu Hatab is a Palestinian physician, short story writer, and a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a leading member of the Palestinian Democratic Union (FIDA.) He spent ten years as the editor-in-chief of Al-Hurriya magazine. His collections of short stories have gained popularity and critical acclaim in the Arab world for their exploration of reality and their profound influence on the flash fiction genre. Dr. Emad currently lives in Germany.
Essam M. Al-Jassim is a Saudi writer and translator based in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. His writings and translations have been featured nationally and internationally in various Arabic and English-language literary journals. He is the translator and editor of the recently published anthology of flash fiction Furtive Glimpses: Flash Fiction from The Arab World.
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Joe Lugara took up painting and photography as a boy after his father discarded them as hobbies. His works depict odd forms and objects, inexplicable phenomena, and fantastic dreamscapes, taking as their basis horror and science fiction films produced from the 1930s through the late 1960s. He began creating digital paintings in the 2010s; they debuted in a 2018 solo exhibition at the Noyes Museum of Art in his home state of New Jersey. Mr. Lugara’s work has been featured in several publications and has appeared in more than 40 exhibitions in museums and galleries in the New York Metropolitan Area, including the New Jersey State Museum and 80 Washington Square East Galleries at New York University.
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