Between Love and Weakness

Ahmed said seriously: "I'm leaving because that's enough for you for now, but this won't be the last talk between us."

He left the office under her gaze, which was filled with anger mixed with resentment, and she went on doing her work without speaking to anyone, and after the long, hard workday ended she returned to her house, where she met a woman in her late fifties and said to her with a smile: "How are you, Tante?"

The woman replied coldly: "Praise be to God," then said provocatively: "Oh, I forgot to tell you, my son, the light of my eyes, his wedding is in two days in one of the biggest banquet halls in Egypt, to a lady doctor and the best of girls, neither complicated nor conceited like some people."

She was certain the woman was talking about her, so she felt anger, but she hid it, saying with feigned coldness: "Congratulations, may God bring it to a good completion for him. Excuse me," and she went up to her house and opened the door with her key and placed her papers and things on the nearest table she came to and headed toward the kitchen to see her mother cooking many things. She drew near to her, and when her mother saw her she left the kitchen and left her alone, so she ran quickly after her and took her hands as she said: "Come on, Mama, don't be upset with me."

She looked at her and did not answer, so she went on: "Come on, my love, don't be upset."

Manal said: "I'm not upset with you, I'm upset for you. Forget it, ya habibti."

She replied, cutting her off: "Mama, let's not talk about this subject because I'm tired and fed up."

Manal said: "Okay, Nour."

Nour said: "So, aren't you going to feed me?!"

Manal said seriously: "Wait until Baba comes and we'll eat together."

Nour said: "Okay, ya habibti."

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She was sitting at her laptop following the most important news and checking her own page when she found one of the pages advertising one of the famous doctors in psychotherapy who had

copied down the number and address on her phone. She did not know why she did that, then she was startled out of her reverie by the sound of the laptop announcing the arrival of a message for her, so she opened it,

and its content was ("We haven't finished talking and I'll come to you again so that ..... you can train me")

She kept staring at it, feeling anger and resentment, then she closed the laptop and went to her bed to sleep, to get away from all her sorrows, for the only thing by which we can distance ourselves from pain and sadness is sleep, so that we may dream of what we want, for dreams are the only window through which we can see everything we wish would happen.

.......................................

On the second day she went to her work and went to the room of her boss (Maged) to try to get him to have someone else train this strange creature, and after much insistence he agreed, so she left his office feeling happy, but the happiness did not last because when she entered the office she saw her friend Arwa weeping bitterly, so she hurried to her saying: "What's wrong, Arwa?" She could not speak from so much weeping, but when she saw her she hugged her tightly, and she found many of the employees looking at them, so she said sharply and in a loud voice: "Everyone go do your work!" People moved away from them out of fear of her harshness and her loud voice, and she tried to calm her friend, and when she calmed down she said to her in a very faint voice: "Help me, Nour."

She looked at her in shock to say with seriousness mixed with questioning: "What's wrong, girl?"

Arwa, weeping: "Hossam wants me to quit my job."

Nour sharply: "It's your fault. I told you before you got married not to let him get used to having his way with you. You say yes to everything he tells you, 'okay, fine.'"

Arwa seriously: "I can't say no, no matter how upset I am or how much I disagree with his decision."

Nour sharply: "Then he has every right to do what he's doing to you."

Arwa: "I've never been one to cause problems."

She looked at her reproachfully and said: "And I didn't tell you to be like that, but you shouldn't say yes to everything he tells you."

She looked at her then said seriously: "I can't do anything, even if I want to, without his permission."

She looked at her with resentment mixed with anger to say sharply: "That's called weakness."

Arwa in protest: "No, it's called love, adoration, fear of upsetting the one I love."

Nour sarcastically: "Love should be rational."

Arwa: "If love were rational, it wouldn't be love."

Nour: "Many love and betray, many love and do wrong, and Hossam is like any man who just wants to impose control over you, that's all, and you follow him mindlessly."

Arwa: "Not everyone is like Nader! By the way, Nour, you need to go to a psychiatrist to work through your complex. You're going to ruin yourself like this."

She looked at her then said seriously: "Thank you so much, Arwa, for your advice."

She looked at her for a while trying to find words to fix what she had spoiled a moment before to say in a tone in which tenderness showed: "I'm so sorry, Nour, but I swear I want you to be the Nour I know again, the kind, innocent Nour. For my sake, don't be mad at me."

Nour: "Enough, Arwa, go do your work, and besides I have work to do."