My dear Mr. Adham
Apologies! I was a bit late than expected!
I had a last-minute gig to the airport
so I accepted it!
As you know, these days, no work whatsoever
so I thought to myself any errand would be handy!
Come on! Let’s go!
May Allah bless us!
Maybe this could be my last chance
Maybe I could
Maybe I would fail
But definitely i will unveil the truth
I am doomed to return
Taking myself an arrival hostage
Therefore i will reach
carrying my luggage
wearing colorless trousers
and shoes that resemble me
This is me on May Twenty Seventh of This Year
And then Shaymaa,
I heard Mr. Mohammed’s voice going louder and louder suddenly
Honestly, I was surprised I swear!
You know, since he moved into our building,
I never heard him making noise!
Not even his voice! I swear to God!!
What is this?
Tell you what Shaymaa, here take this,
Do you know Mr. Raafat on the first floor?
Deliver that to him in a flash!
Chop chop girl!
Hey, you!
Why are you gazing at the building in such way?
Do you need anything?
How are you Salah my boy?
Salah my boy??
Mr. Adham!!!
Oh, my lord! It’s you Mr. Adham!!
Welcome back!
Man!! Where have you been all this time?
Let me tell you, 30 years or more gone? How come!
You could’ve at least sent a word to reassure us about you Man!
By God, I knew that you were coming!
Welcome back Mr. Adham
I'm so glad to see you
Look! Your presence is adding more light to the building!
Even though you still haven’t set foot in the apartment,
but the building seems brighter!
By the way, tell me Mr. Adham,
Have you been in the Gulf region?
Some say you had migrated to America
And others say, excuse the expression,
You have passed away
But I told them “No way that he’s dead!
Not a chance! That man must be alive!
Honestly, I am upset with you,
If only you had informed us, you were coming!
We would’ve cleaned the apartment and aired it!
It had been closed since the horrible incident!
May you rest in peace Mrs. Awatef !
By the way, are you still writing stories
And tales like you used to?
You’re most welcome!
Your old neighbor , Mrs. Nadia had passed away too
And her son kept the apartment closed as well.
Here I am standing before you,
Fearing you,
Intimidated by you ,
Voices are beckoning me to run away
And spirits are ushering me onwards
Onwards
Oh dear!
What’s wrong with you Mr. Adham?
Why aren’t you answering me?
Are you mad at me?
There is no mighty but God Almighty!
May Allah help you!
Tell you what Mr. Adham,
I’ll leave you so you can rest.
Shaymaa’s mother is downstairs,
I’ll ask her to prepare a nice meal for you
so you can fuel up and feel better!
And should you need anything at all, call me.
Just say “Abou Shaymaa (Shaymaa’s father)!
And I’ll come right up!
Or better yet, forget that Abou Shaymaa,
Call me the way you used to before.
Remember Mr. Adham?
Mr. Adham? Do you remember ?
Call me” Oh Salah!
You boy Salah! You damned Salah!
I want to your voice to roar like old times!
There is no mighty but God Almighty!
Apartment -Adham Soliman .. Journalist and Novelist -
The suicide of the novelist Adham Soliman’s wife.
♬ I’ve always wished to be with you
♬ I’ve wished
♬ come near me,
♬ closer here beside me
♬ I’ve wished
♬ Come near me and discover here the paradise
♬ I’ve always wished to be with you
Toufa, tell you what,
your beloved Adham is famished!
And I need to go to work as soon as possible
What’s so special about today?
You know that today is the day
o deliver the article to the editor in chief
Tell you what…
come near me, closer here beside me
I’ll tell you what!
You follow me and bring along the food right away
So, how long is it before you finish your novel?
A bit, just a little bit!
You know,
this is the first time that I feel the images are slipping away.
It’s like the characters or the story
do not acknowledge my existence.
Not acknowledging your existence?
How can they not acknowledge your existence?
Alright, try reasoning with them and convince them.
Alright, Alright my lady!
Better yet,
I’ll get you to be my middleman,
so you get to convince them.
Alrighty then,
I must leave at once!
And you play with this whistle of yours until I come back.
Whistle?
It is a Harmonica
Awatef?
Why are you running from me?
I am not running away,
better yet, I was running.
But as of now, I am not running
Adham,
is there something you’re hiding from me?
Awatef,
I am exhausted
Awatef,
I am exhausted
This novel thing is stressing me out!
It is capturing me!
Alright then!
Forget about it and think about writing a new one!
I can’t!
Or may be even I do not wish to be able to!
Adham .. Baby,
you have been working on this novel for two years now,
almost since we got married.
The most bizarre thing about it
is that you’ve never discussed its details,
its plot, its characters, or even its theme with me.
You’ll read it eventually
For sure!
I’ll read it eventually ?
Yes , I’ll read it eventually
For sure!
Well!!! I’ll go play some music
or make dinner or….do anything
Why don’t you want her to learn anything
about the details of the novel?
No particular reason….
Maybe I do not want to have the characters come out to life
until I finish writing the novel!
They too have their secrets!
They have their secrets?
Her too, she is one of the secrets!
No!! She is the secret of all secrets!
Who is she?
Awatef
If you only know how much I love you!
I love you as much as he hates you!
He hates me !
And who hates me?
The same person who hates me!
And who is this person who hates you?
Adham
Adham Soliman!
Awatef ,
Tomorrow I am finishing my novel Awatef!
And my name will be known across the country!
Adham …. Soliman
On the book signing day,
my book will be sold out!
The journalists will be chasing me just for a personal statement.
And me!
I will have a party just for me,
and my music will enchant people
And you!
You will write about me
“It is the talented musician Awatef Mousa”
Or would it be better if my name would be known as
Awatef Soliman?
Toufa,
will we ever get rid of this whistling business?
Whistling?
By the way Adham,
you married me knowing that I am fond of music!
You have met me when I was playing music.
Yes!
That is true!
I have met while you were with him!
When you both used to play music together at university.
Samir Lotfi,
you’re hopeless lover.
Enough Adham please.
Every now and then you bring up the same topic?
By the way,
I am not the only girl who had lived a love story before marriage.
After all, Adham, we went our separate ways!
He might as well get lost!
He might as well get lost indeed!
He was imprisoned because of his treason to the country
And when he got out of jail, he abandoned you!
That’s enough Adham,
Enough!
I want nothing from you!
Wrong!
You’re wrong!
There is still good inside you boy!
You know she loves you.
Don’t be an idiot!
Tell her “don’t be mad at me”
Don’t be mad at me please!
Tell her “I’m an idiot”
I’m an idiot my lady!
Don’t say that about yourself!
By God you lost your mind,
you’re making me wear my wedding gown
two years after my wedding?
To be great, you must be crazy!
At least explain to me why you made me dress this way?
I just want you to stand still while I stare at you
Ahhh, this is romance then?
Of course, it is romance!
But honestly, there is another reason.
Today, I am writing a new chapter for my novel
where the heroine marries the hero!
A moment of triumph for the hero,
just like the moment of victory for the protagonists in epic tales!
I am not following…
Simply,
the heroine resembles you
your voice,
your features,
and even your details.
And because I am meticulous about details,
I wanted to experience the main character’s feeling
The ecstasy of appropriation!
So that words flow, and I can write easily.
I am at a loss Adham !
This new novel of yours feels like a puzzle to me!
I wonder
if your heroine has no one in her life like me!
I am everyone you need in your life!
No Adham!
Bit by bit you estranged me from everyone I know
my friends and relatives.
Even both our families!
We don’t visit them and none of them visits us.
Sometimes I begin to doubt if you and I still exist!
No, my lady!
We exist!
The proof is….
Tomorrow is your birthday!
What is today?
The twenty sixth of May .
It seems that he didn’t love her!
That’s what he has discovered recently!
Awatef, for him, was a mere cotton doll
and he was as child who yearned for her!
He was sure that she will be his tale.
There are things that need to be edited.
Why do you keep on haunting me
every time I’m about to even write a word in the novel?
Which one of us is haunting the other?
No time left!
The ending needs to be edited. Please!
It doesn’t matter anymore!
Ladies and gentlemen!
Tonight, we have with us the great writer, novelist, and journalist
Adham Monir Shaker Lotfi Soliman
with a reading from his masterpiece
Awatef
This is the name !
This was the first time Adham laid eyes on her.
She was special, different, and unique.
Samir Lotfi, Adham’s one and only friend stood before him and said ,
“Adham! Come here! Come, don’t be shy!
Let me introduce you to Awatef,
my love and my future wife.
At that moment, I felt ablaze.
I hated him
And then,
Adham made up his mind
and decided to be the hero ,
The hero of the novel!
With his vibrant wit, he devised his plan of action.
As I was close to Samir,
I was fully aware of his political orientations,
his thoughts, and his contacts.
And with precision and malice,
Adham gathered everything he needed to get rid of his sole friend,
then, he made a deal.
I agreed with the police officer to hand him Samir
in exchange of them letting him know that
it was Awatef who ratted him out.
And now,
Adham emerged as an epic hero before the eyes of Awatef
I married her,
I wanted to hide her.
I feared lest she talk to someone.
I was terrified that she would find out the truth.
And after the ecstasy of appropriation,
Adham has gradually lost his interest in her
It seems that ……
It seems that he didn’t really love her.
This is what he has discovered recently.
Awatef, for him, was a mere cotton doll
and he was as child who yearned for her!
Happy birthday!
Happy when you’re by my side!
Run away!
Run? Run from what?
There is not time left! Run away!!
Why do you keep telling me to run away?
I want to understand!
Novel, Awatef . written by Adham Soliman , draft
Adham has always tried to conceal the truth!
He has always tried to create his own truth!
♬ I’ve always wished to be with you
♬ I’ve wished
♬ come near me,
♬ closer here beside me
♬ I’ve wished
♬ Come near me and discover here the paradise
Maybe I am uncapable of creating a different truth,
but I am definitely capable of being reborn again!
Mr. Adham! Open up
Mr. Adham!!!
Open the door Mr. Adham!!!
Mr. Adham! Open up