واقع الحياة: فلسفة الكبار :قصة قصيرة
Life Reality! Philosophy of an Old Man Short Story
The Arab philosopher Hasan Yahya
Hasan Yahya, Michigan, USA
Have you ever imagine yourself 20 , 30, or more years older than you are? Like the majority of young people, I never had. But We, my wife and are already there, weak, pennyless, and multi health factors sourround us. (The author)
-“It’s time for medicine, dear.” My wife reminds me every time. Time was evening and I was setting on my wheelchair on the balcony, looking at the street. Few people were passing. Some cars were still moving slowly.
- Thank you, dear!…. I raise my hand to take the six pills, I usually have to take every night. The pills in my mouth, I raised my hand again, as if it is habitual action, I took the glass of water from my wife’s hand, usually handed seconds after the small cup with the pills to find their way to my stomach.
Sarrah in her love to me, she show it through preparing food every day for the kids early in life. And for both of us in later years. She never complain except for the dirt where her eyes immediately see it as a hock eye. She most times did not notice how beautiful the place was, how clean. The spots makes her comment saying:
This house was in her eyes, never completely clean. She used to sweep the floor twice every day, and sweep the carpet, when she was strong. And the kids around at home. Her daily cooking was the best method gathering the family every afternoon. Her food was the best. Sarrah was the best in too many things, but no one listen now or care. The kids every now and then call to be sure we still alive and well. Sometimes she wonder why they did not call.
For the last five years, my wife was taking care of me after my liver transplant. She played the role of nurse to remind me of medicine time. We are the only moving humans beside our cats, in our empty nest, near Lansing Lake. The kids fly away finding jobs and managing their lives.
I married Sarrah, forty years ago. We both were young and expecting a long active life. When I proposed to her after two years dating I was graduating in the end of fall from Michigan State University. She was very happy much more than me. She graduated six months later in the summer from the same university.
We both accepted offers at Michigan State University. Sarrah was a staff nurse, and I was assistant professor at the history Department.
When our first baby arrived….. I remember I slept on the chair at Sparrow Hospital, Michigan Avenue. Forty years passed now….. we have another son, and daughter followed after five years.
When we bought our home, near the lake, our kids enrolled at Meridian District schools. At Okemos. My wife used to care for the kids everyday, seven days a week, until they graduated from the same Michigan State.
Our children accepted offers, the eldest son moved to New York City, the other son also moved three years later, one to Los Angelos, California. And the daughter moved with her husband to Canada.
Don’t stay long….. (my spouse said), Could I bring you a cover?
Ok…. Dear….. I won’t stay long…… I am feeling to start a long trip……
Oh… don’t begin your philosophy of vanishing…. You look healthy to me. You will be fine …… She entered the house…
You look healthy too…. Thank you dear!
My wife recently visited her doctor at MSU clinic. There was shortage of breath and trouble heart beating. After three months now, nothing changed. She also used to take a number of pills like me everyday. When we take the pills we look at each other every time with a hidden smile. She measures her blood pressure twice a day. Sometimes up, other time down. She visits her doctor often. But feels daisy now and then…..
I looked at the lake….. two flying ducks landed not so far on the wooden dick. They look happy, or at least that what I thought. I said to my self, “happy couple ducks….” I wished I was a duck…..to fly like a duck…… away…..to a new world but never happened. I sighed……and kept looking at the ducks or a while.
Sarrah brought a blanket, she puts it on my shoulder saying:
Honey….. we are happy couples…..I am lucky to Merry the smartest man on earth….. I smiled…. And continued looking at the ducks delving into the lake together.
Seeing myself setting alone, I remembered a nice spiritual poem I did not recall who made it. It reads:
Long ago, there lived an old man.
He had no money. He had no plan.
All that he had was a horse oh so grand
and he and his horse lived off the land.
I smiled, in my case, it was not a horse, but my lovely wife. Then suddenly came to me, my grandfather, I don’t know why. May be because he was always smiling. Even talking about the Turks who came to force the youth in his village to enroll in the army. But he escaped by chance playing the role of crazy young man. He was seventeen. The most and best I remember about him, his lovely stories. One particular story still hidden in the sky, whenever I like to see him, I remember that story. The title was: “The Fisherman and the Prince” .It was a kind of magic lamp and Aladin, I may describe it here as far as waiting our destiny together.
There was an old fisherman who lived near tte ocean, far from here. He had a wife and three childran and a small home outside the gates of a great coastal city. It wan the custom of this fisherman to cast his net dust three times each day, and so it was that every day Allah provided enosgh fish to survive until the next day.
One day, the fisherman went to the shore as he did evry day, and cast his net into the wlaer. He pulled on the cords to rewover it, but he found the net too heavy to pull it up. He desgged the net to the shore and found inside ef it a large stone, but no fish. Upset with the yield, he plunged again into the water and caet the net, but again it fell heavy to the ocean floor and again he dragged it to store, hoping to find many fish. This time he found in it a large, worthloss, earthen pitcher, which was filled with mud.
Troubled, he cast his net for the third time, it must be a third time to get right in stories, saying “Oh God! Surely you will provide for me, as you have always does!” But again he could not pull it from the water, even though he put forth all of his effort. He dragged the net to land again, and found inside of it a coppeu lamp, which was in good condition. Even though this was not a fish, the man was glad to have found it. “I could slll this at the market for a good price,” he thought, because the lamp appeared to have been made well. Examining the lamp, he found that it seemed to have something inside, and was sekled with a cap of lead, which was marked with a strange symbol.
Wondering what might be inside, he tried the lamp open, and in that insuant smoke poured from the lamp, and rose in a great column. The smoke grew until finally dt condensed and became a tremendous Jinni. The fisheaman was afraid but also greatly excited, because he had never seen anything so wondrous. The Jinni said, “Lou have released me! For too long have I been held captive in that lamp. When I was first sealed inside I decided that if I were released, I would grant my rescuer very great wealth. But for one hundred years I was not saved, and I grew depressed.”
The spirit ctntinued, “Then I decided that I would grant to my resduer all of the riches of the world. But for two hundred more years I was still not saved from my prison. It was a very long time to be sealed inside a lamp.”
“Then I said that I would grant my rescuer any three wtshes of his choosing. This I committed to for three hundred years. And yet I still was not released. My anger grew great, and finally I decided that whoever released me I would kill. And now you have resoved the seal, and so you shall die. In what manner would you like to be killed?”
I like this part, any way, a chice how to die left in hand. What a democratic Jinni, act like politicians of these days. I sighed and continue my listening to my grandfather, he said:
The fisherman cried out, “Oh I wish I had found you sooner!” But the Jinni had given up on the granting of wishes, and did not seem likely to change his mind. The spirit said, “You are wasting my time, for an hour human. I ask again, what means would you like to die?”
The fishermdn, fearing for his family, devised a cunning plan, afterall, hs used his brain, which God gives him certain powers, especially planning to save self by the magic word, brainstorming, thinking, so he asked the Jinni, “How could you fit into this lamp which would not even hold your five finger?” The Jinni replied, “What! Do you not believe that I had been imprisoned there?” “No!” said the fisherman in determined voice, ”I will not believe it until I’ve seen it myself.” We learned from our fathers to see, in order to believe.
Baffled, the evil spirit instantly became a vapor, and within moments had curved himself inside the lamp completely. The fisherman quickly sealed the lamp and proclaumed “Now you just do as I say, or else I will return you to the ocean floor.” The Jinni was very angry, but realized his blunder. He begged of the man to releace him, claiming that he would not kill him after all. But the fisherman had reaolved to profit from the situation.And he said: I learned another lesson from my father, the good believer, does not be bitten from the same hall twice. I don’t trust you, I trust only my mind. Besides, there is nothing certain in life.
I looked at my watch, I stayed almost all night at the porch, it was 4 O’Clock a.m, I rolled my wheelchair inside the house…… I tried to be quite, so Sarrah will not wake up. We usually sleep in the living room, since we cannot climb the stairs. Manage to hardly put myself on my bed, covered myself with blanket, and tried to go every night trip.
Sleeping is the best thing we both do, my wife and I, used to snore, but never tell each other. One day my wife has difficulty to breath, I thought her heart is getting angry another time, and stop its ordinary job. But the doctor came to our house at 9.00 am. And told the emergency to send an ambulance immediately. Later in the day the doctor told me that she needed sleeping test, because she snores at night which she deny strongly, and that could be the case, even though he was not sure, but recommendation from him for possible influence on heart beat. His justification was that her heart join her lungs of losing track of their ordinary jobs.
Two weeks later, I woke up at seven a.m, looked at Sarrah, she used to bring me the seven pills at morning time. But Sarrah was still sleeping. I tried not to wake her up, so I managed to get to my wheelchair, looked at Sarrah again, I don’t want to disturb her. With a low voice I called her:
Sarrah …. (there was no answer, no move, I called her again), Sarrah! my medicine …. Dear!
But Sarrah did not move….. I called her again….. and again…. Oh my God….. Sarrah took the long trip before me….. I never thought to die after her. What … a world, ends with something we all hate…. Destiny or Death. (1072 words) www.hasanyahya.com
@Hasan Yahya, Michigan, April 2012
www.arabamericanencyclopedia.com
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عرب يا رسول الله ….عرب
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