A priceless pearl

A priceless pearl

She woke up early and made it straight away for the mirror. With deep sorrow she started contemplating her complexion till drops of bitter tears started to flow down her cheeks. She remembered the long years of sacrifice, dedication and tirelessness, as she thought, in vain, for she got nothing in return. The husband still in bed snoring and enjoying its warmth, and the three kids, all of whom boys, by the same token share the same moment but each one on his own. Only she had to leave the warmth of bed to prepare what their mouths could devour and grin by their animal-like fangs. She punched the mirror as hard as she could, unfortunately she couldn't break it, but fortunately she didn't hurt herself.

What added insult to injury was the fact that that day was her birthday, yet nobody dared to remember it and made her a surprise to refresh the atmosphere, or made her believe that she still had her touch, and she was still a priceless pearl. None of these thoughts crossed neither her husband's mind, nor her children's. She undoubtedly believed that she was a simple maid or machine whose main role is to serve the others. She can’t feel or imagine. She can't express what’s inside her. All her mission is just to perform her kind of algorithmic tasks, predefined and indisputable.

Enough is enough she believed. She got dressed, packed her bag with clothes and food, and then left home. That was a revolutionary act. She also switched off her phone and made it to nowhere. Two hours later, her husband got up in the hope to find something to feed his empty stomach. To his surprise, the table in their kitchen was different this time because nothing was on it. He started calling the name of his wife but got no answer. He took his phone and started to dial the number, but he was surprised when he found out that the line was out of service.

He woke up the kids and started to enquiry about their mom’s location, but of course they, too, had no idea. ‘What? She didn’t make us breakfast. What are we going to eat?’ said one of her kids. Yes, unfortunately, stomach comes first and anything else doesn’t matter.

After having serving themselves with what was available, they started to look for their mother by contacting their members of family and all their acquaintances, but the attempts yielded nothing. Nobody had any clue as to her whereabouts, even the authorities failed to track her location.

It was now three months that she had gone missing. The house was in a complete shambles. The rooms got dirty and messy. The kids grow untidy and shabby in appearance and their stomachs missed the years they had been lavishly fed like kings in their palaces. The husband was in an unprecedented psychological state. It was a mixture of anger and logging. Anger because he felt being disrespected when his woman left the nest with no warning, and to him that was hurting his pride.  Logging means he desperately felt the need of his other half being by his side to take care of him and his kids. He did shed tears realising how harsh and ungrateful he was to her all these years long.  

On a freezing day and very early in the morning, somebody started to knock on the door. The little son hurried towards it. Once the door swung open, the boy couldn’t believe his eyes when saw his mom accompanied by an elderly man. The boy threw himself into his mom’s arms, hugging her firmly with his eyes going watery. They both kissed each other and apologising for everything they thought they had done wrong. The husband joined with the other kids and all started to cry.

‘Son,’ said the elderly man, ‘you have a precious pearl and you had better keep it safe. I lost my wife and her mother, my daughter, but I still want to see her. She has my blood and she is the only treasure I still have.’

‘Uncle,’ said the husband, ‘I know what I have done and I did grasp the message she intelligently tried to convey. I promise you and myself that I will keep her safe and treat her the same way she has been treating us all these years. The house without her is a complete mess and divided nation. She has been our lifeguard and mainstay. I am sorry Najwa from the bottom of my heart. I am saying this on behalf of our kids.’

‘Darling, I love you and I love the kids, but I had to do this because I, too, need care and someone who can make me believe that I have a great sentimental value for him, and to stand by my side during my ups and downs. You all mean a lot to me and I am sure we all can change everything. We are all going to assume our part of responsibility to make this family great again.’ said the wife.

                                                                                   Ismail KAMAL

The common good versus narrow interests

The common good versus narrow interests

I am increasingly getting accustomed to all kinds of contradiction wherever I set my foot on, and my mind is also taking part in this process.

To my best knowledge, it was the case of two categories of people who utterly differ from each other, either in terms of principles or the way they perform their shares of duties. This is going to be summed up by portraying two different characters of two men. Both of them reflect the image of a society as a whole, though one of whom ranks for a mere, give or take, 2% of the majority, a point of view.

In a certain place they were both working. The place brought them together and both were supposedly doing the same work. One of them was known as a motormouth with his endless speeches through which backing morals and principles, and how these values constitute the cornerstone of the success of any organisation or society. The man had the necessary skills to attract his co-workers and make them believe every single word he uttered. What’s more, he used to show up in social events to offer his assistance or sympathy if anybody was going through hard times. But behind these moves lay a malignant intention.

Back to the working place, he was the one who skipped responsibility and never performed his share of duties. A loafer who was frequently looking for somebody to fill in for him, and he was always looking for the easiest ways to get benefits. To guarantee and gain an advantage he, and all people of his kind, resorted to toadyism and licking boots without valuing how important one should shield his dignity from any kind of mistreatment or humiliation. It didn’t matter after all, since morals had no room in his priorities.

In contrast to the first character, there was that man who used to work without going public.

He would work hard and perform his work effectively and efficiently. He was the man behind the success of the place and its appalling reputation. But you would never see him in public because he was not the one who would scan the situation for his own interests, nor did he wish to live at the expense of others. He was lovable among some of the staff thanks to his innovative ideas, being simple, and first and foremost for his honesty and sense of altruism.

You would never find him praising those in the high-up, instead he remained stern when it came to what was right or wrong, opening room for a clash of personalities, and this what made him a lot of enemies and vultures. However, he was the panacea each time a crisis emerged, yet he got nothing in return but enmity. Ultimately, not feeling the sense of belonging within this unhealthy atmosphere led him to present his resignation and even leave the country.

The new environment was healthy and welcoming, and an avenue for growing more and more successful presented itself; an opportunity he did seize and exploit very well.

By Ismail KAMAL

Confusing words: Alternatively vs alternately

Confusing words

                                                 Alternatively vs alternately

                                         

  

    1) Alternatively (adverb) /ɔːlˈtɜː(r)nətɪvli/: as another option; instead

- I prefer coffee. Alternatively, I would have a cup of tea.

- You could rent an apartment, or alternatively you could stay with us.

- You can book us the tickets online; alternatively, you can call the company.

2) Alternately (adverb) /ɔːlˈtəːnətli/: used to say that two things come after each other, first one and then the other

- Sarah was alternately happy and depressed. (First she was happy, then she was depressed, then she was happy again.)

-   They planted corn and wheat alternately.

- He became alternately angry and calm.

Confusing words: Sensible vs sensitive

Confusing words

                                                     Sensible vs sensitive

1)  Sensible /ˈsensəb(ə)l/: reasonable and practical (It’s about the way you think and take your decisions.)

- This seems to be a sensible decision and likely to solve the problem.

2)  Sensitive /ˈsensətɪv/: to easily get upset or angry (It’s about your feelings and emotions.)

- I always try to avoid dealing with her because she is a sensitive girl.

Confusing words: Desert vs Dessert

Confusing words

Desert vs Dessert

 1)Desert /ˈdez.ət/: a large area covered with sand and with little rain, where the weather is always dry

2)Dessert /dɪˈzɜːt/: sweet food eaten after the main part of a meal

                                              

Confusing words: Staff vs Stuff

                                                 Confusing words
                               
                                             Staff  vs  Stuff 

                                                                               

1) Staff /stɑːf/: A group of people who work for a particular organization

                                                               

 -I have a good relationship with the staff at work.

2) Stuff /stʌf/: Used to refer to an object without mentioning its name

  - Put this stuff on the table, please!

Confusing words: Stationary vs Stationery

Confusing words

 Stationary vs Stationery

Stationary (adj) /ˈsteɪʃ(ə)n(ə)ri/: not moving

-      The car slammed a stationary truck.

                                                                       

Stationery (noun) /ˈsteɪʃ(ə)n(ə)ri/ - uncountable- : office materials such as paper, pens, pencils etc

 -      I need to buy some stationery for my home office.

                                                                     

Confusing words: Altogether vs All together

Confusing words

 Altogether vs All together

                                    

                                     

1. Altogether: in total or completely

    v Good storytellers like my grand will vanish altogether.

v The T-shirt cost $50 and the pants $90, so I paid $140 altogether. (in total)

2. All together: in a group; with each other

v She put the books all together on the table.

v I always feel happy when I see the family all together.

Twelve idioms about money

Twelve idioms about money

(part 1)

      1. To be born with a silver spoon in the mouth: to be born to a rich family

    Ex:

v She can have everything she wants since she was born with a silver spoon in the mouth.

     

2. To strike it rich: to become rich in a short time

    Ex:

v He thinks he could strike it rich if he invests his money in gold.

3. Be in the red: to be in debt because you are spending more than you have

    Ex:

v We are in the red because of your mismanagement.

4.  Easy money: money that you earn dishonestly or by making little effort

      Ex:

v Thanks to my long experience in marketing I can make easy money in a drop of a hat (quickly).

5. Dirty money: money earned illegally or in a dishonest way

   Ex:

v Many politicians have been arrested amid allegation of corruption and laundering dirty money.

6. Fat cat: a rich person

  Ex:

v He is a fat cat who is running a big company.

7. Keep the wolf the door: to have enough money to buy the basic things

 Ex:

v At that time I was still a student, and I had an evening job to keep the wolf from the door.

8. To live from hand to mouth: to have just enough money to live on

 Ex:

v I can't afford to buy a phone; you know I live from hand to mouth.

9. Marry money: to marry a rich person

Ex:

v She always believed that marring money was the easiest way to become rich person.

      10. Go bust: go bankrupt

       Ex:

v The company went bust because of mismanagement.

      11. Throw money at something: to try to solve a problem by spending a lot of money

      Ex:

v I don't believe that we can improve health service by just throwing a lot of money at it.

12. Save money for a rainy day: to save money because you may need it in the future in case of emergency

      Ex:

v My father always saves some money for a rainy day.

                                                                                                                Ismail KAMAL