VERY SHORT STORIES // FARIDA EZZAT

The following are short – very short – stories written about the world and the lives within it.


They had only shared thirteen glances, one every month. Their thirteenth was on their birthday. The day of their Universe.

The stars are born to embrace her eyes. The gods plant her soul in ancient lands of flowers and amnesia. No one remembers.

The cries of child, of mother, of man lost in the lands of the dead. They travel around the sun in perfect carelessness.

The toothpaste oozed desperately onto my skin, longing for the calcium flesh of teeth. An unforgettable French kiss.

Red lipstick smeared on the white pillow sleeping below the bed. She had married the perfect cotton.

When the train blew up and the bachelor died screaming her name, that’s when she woke up from her coma. She laughs.

They followed lions in the forest of love. A butterfly takes its last leap into their nets, dying forever. Genocide.

The taste of their freshly baked love, immortal. The music of their passionate symphony infinitely alive. They breathe.

Pressing ‘delete’ wasn’t enough. His memory like cancer reaps her neurons. His words carved on her spine. Keyboards fail.

“Shoot the bastard,” she shouts. My hands, paralyzed, humiliate me. I no longer hold a gun. I only imagine her shouts; my shots.

We survive on one thing. Meat, desire, and power. Three phases of a single moon.

A drunkard met the Grim Reaper hoping to dissuade him from taking his wife. The Reaper shared a drink, kissed his wife.

Bare legs. Naked eyes. Hollow hearts. Bleeding noses. They dream of becoming; damned to the human body. They pray in shards.

“If I die tonight, burn my body,” she said. “I will set fire to myself and hug you,” she replied. They lived aflame.

They painted themselves in red and danced in the street. They were called love and strawberries. They were fire nebulae.

It is an outrage. They killed three girls every night, shaving their red hair and braiding it; beautiful. It is absolution.

They promised to stop lying in the morning. The sun rose. They rose. They surrendered to their voices. It was true love.

Up, they are. Eyes and flesh. Screaming for freedom. Fantasy escapes in fear of their imagination. Gods of life, they are.

ENOUGH // NERMEEN H.

It happened
on the way back from work,

I tripped
              and

                     fell

fat folders and half-corrected exams
scattered on the gray concrete

and eyes fall upon me like rain

needles, sharp like stifled screams,
pricked my heart
and blood did pool into my raw palms
and fog did fill my eyes

but there!

Beckoning from the midst of the fanged abyss,
a glint of gold:

A key.

Deftly engraved on the shaft- 
in ethereal ornate lettering- 
were the words

TAKE ME AND RUN

and so I did

Days bled into nights
and spanned across the heaving sky
like the tips of an Archangel’s wings
still I ran
faster than the rebuking lips of my dwindling lungs

when

like a forgotten apology,
a chalk-lined door blossomed
from the faint scars on my fingertips

blessed key kissed lock

the sweet squeak of swinging hinges

I’m home,
I whispered

Their smiles were forgiving
and genuine.

IT'S ALL OVER // SARAH EL SHAZLY

Grab a pen and a piece of paper, print down your victory in ink. 
There you have it, your verbal proof. Show it off to yourself.
Cut it in pieces and throw it in the air. 
Burn it to ashes. 
Fold it under your pillow. 
A memento of glory.
Your glory. 

Applaud your sentiment of pride. 

You’ve fought a fair battle. 
You’re done with the ache, no more ache. No more distress. 
The battle is over.
Tears are shed. Dried out.
Your wounds are evidence. 
The ruins are there to testify.


"I really don’t want to fight this battle anymore."


Rest. You’re worn-out. 
Jaded. 
You’ve been through a lot.
Come here, lay down. 
Rest.

Look back. It’s all there.
You’re past it all. 
Don’t worry, you made it. you did it.
You’re safe.
Look, it’s back there. 
It’s all over, it’s ok. 

Everything’s ok now. 

THE PORTAL // AHMED EL ATTAR

Have you ever tried to think about the majesty of that portal - the one you have in your mind - that keeps you striving and thriving?

It is the anticipation for a better tomorrow, a voice echoing in your ears: “Just one last push,” when you are about to succumb.

It’s your lucid dream; a world of your own creation, exquisitely tailored to you.

As astronomers look up to the sky to observe celestial phenomena and discover new stars,

You dive into your portal when reality is just not enough for you,

When it’s not quenching your thirst.

You see things so vividly that it makes your heart beat as if with the pretense of escaping your chest. You smile and feel a zephyr untainting your soul, refreshing your being.

Being loved back, or restoring old love, living a bohemian week in Paris, or a gypsy dance in Colombia.

Or maybe fighting for a noble cause.

The thing is, everybody has his or her own list of things. And although the portal never carries a promise, you are reaching out

and in this simple quest lies your life

Some of the things turn into reality, others won’t

and in this simple fact lies a great wisdom.

LUB DUP // NADINE BADAWY

Lub Dup .. Lub Dup.. Lub Dup..Crack .

Lub Dup.. Lub Dup.. Lub Dup.. Crack.

How many times do you have to break down before that crack is permanent? Before your heart falls way beyond repair?

How many times do you have to pretend you do not notice before your chest tightens and your stomach clenches?

How many times do you have to over-think before your brain explodes into a million pieces, shattered on the floor, like pieces of puzzle that do not fit together anymore?

How many battles do you have to fight before you can surrender?

How much crap do you have to deal with to soar past the threshold and completely earn the right to fall apart?

Lub Dup.. Lub Dup.. Lub Dup.. Crack.

BINGO!

عقبالك يوم مماتك // NERMEEN H.

"مبروك يا حبيبتي! قمر زي امها ما شاء الله! عقبال ماتفرحي بيها"

"مبروك على المجموعة! يلا عقبال الشهادة الكبيرة بقى"

"ألف مبروك على الشهادة يا حبيبتي يلا عقبال العريس بقى!"

"سمعت عن الشغلانة الجديدة! مبروك بس عايزين نفرح بيكي بقى!"

"مبروك يا حبيبتي! عقبال ما نشيل ولادك كده"

"طالع قمر زي ابوه ما شاء الله! عقبال ماتجيبيله أخ او أخت يونسه"

"أخر العنقود ده كده خلاص؟ مبروك يا حبيبتي عقبال ماتفرحي بيهم"

" عقبال ما يخدوا الشهادة "

"عقبال ما يتجوزوا وتفرحي بيهم"

"عقبال ما تشيلي عيالهم"

"الله يرحمها كانت ست-" "صحيح! مش فلانة جابت بنت امبارح"

"فعلا؟! ما شاء الله عقبال ما تفرح بيها"