PUBLISHED BY PROJECT PEN الناشر: مشروع قلم SMASHWORDS EDITION TWITTER STORIES BY PROJECT PEN IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-NODERIVS 3.0 UNPORTED LICENSE المحتوى الوارد في هذا الكتاب اللكتروني خاضع لبنود رخصة المشاع البداعي ّلت الن“. نادت على و عندما وجدت اسمه في صفحة الوفيات، أغلقت الجريدة و قالت: “لو تزوجت حب حياتي لترم زوجها :“القهوة جاهزة حبيبي“ # ProjectPen @ memanal Atlas fell on his knees; Earth was as heavy as his breath. He prayed. We were long gone and stray. #Projectpen @shahdsh CONTENTS PROLOGUE EDITORS CHOICE LOVE STORIES JOURNEY STORIES STORIES OF INNOCENCE FANTASY STORIES STORIES OF SELF DISCOVERY STORIES IN CYBERSPACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT PROJECT PEN ABOUT INCHES SOCIAL MEDIA قائمة المحتويات مقدمة قصص مختارة القصص قصص حب قصص على الطريق قصص عن البراءة قصص فانتازية قصص عن اكتشاف الذات قصص من العالم الفتراضي شكر وتقدير عن مشروع قلم عن إنشز PROLOGUE How can you tell a story on twitter? This was the question everyone asked, when Project pen and Inches Social Media first thought of the idea for “Twitter Stories” during the Holy Month of Ramadan, in August 2012. Even the people who liked the idea argued that whatever we ended up with, it wouldn’t be a story But what is a story? At project pen we believe that stories takes many shapes and forms. A story can be scratched on cave walls, spoken out of the camp fire, painted on a canvas or even tweeted. For us, a story is anything that awakens the imagination. The “Twitter Stories” campaign lasted twenty-five days. During that time new kinds of writers, and a new kind of readership, were discovered. Thousands of stories were received, of which only a small selection are included here. The stories are divided into six categories: Stories of Love, Innocence, Fantasy, Journey, Self-Discovery & Stories in Cyberspace. We will leave it to the reader to consider their literary worth. Inside these pages you will find the work of a new generation of storytellers, based in the Kingdom of Jordan, and from all around the Middle East. The stories represent the first and largest collection of Arabic-English ‘tiny stories’ ever made. This anthology is evidence of the creativity that exists in this part of the world - a place where fiction publishing has long been dead, and imagination has long been under siege. Keep Writing, Project pen مقدمة كيف يمكننا كتابة قصة على تويتر؟ كان ذلك هو السؤال الذي وجهه إلينا الجميع عندما فكرنا لول مرة -نحن فريق مشروع قلم وإنشز لحلول الشبكات الجتماعية- في إطلق "مسابقة قصص تويترية" خلل شهر رمضان الماضي الذي وافق آب/أغسطس 2012 حتى أولئك الشخاص الذين أعجبوا بالفكرة قادهم التفكير في الموضوع إلى خلصة مفادها "ولكنها لن تكون قصة!". ولكن؛ ما هو تعريف القصة؟. نؤمن نحن فريق مشروع قلم بأن القصص تتخذ أشكال وهيئات متعددة فيمكن أن ترسم قصة ّد على تويتر. إن مفهوم ُغر ُحكى حول نارمشتعلة في ليلة باردة. قد تطرز القصة على قماشة أو ت على حائط كهف أو ت القصة لدينا يتلخص في أي شيء قد يوقظ في النفس ملكة الخيال. استمرت مسابقة "قصص تويترية" لمدة 25 يومًا حيث اكتشفنا خللها نوعا جديدا من الكتاب والقراءة أيضا. وصلتنا آلف القصص مغردة على تويتر إل أن مجموعة صغيرة منها قد وجدت طريقها إلى النشر في هذا الكتاب. قسمت القصص في هذا الكتاب إلى 6 تصنيفات وهي: قصص الحب والبراءة والفانتازيا إضافة إلى قصص الفضاء اللكتروني واكتشاف الذات وقصص على الطريق ونترك للقارئ تقدير القيمة الدبية لهذه العمال. يحمل هذا الكتاب بين طياته أعمال جيل جديد من رواة القصص المقيمين في الردن وأماكن أخرى في الشرق الوسط. ّرة باللغتين العربية والنجليزية وهي الكبر أيضا في تمثل هذه القصص أول حالة من نوعها في فن رواية القصص المصغ هذا المجال. إن هذه القصص دليل واضح على البداع الموجود في هذا الجزء من العالم وهو مكان احتاج فيه الخيال إلى أن ينفض عنه غبار الهمال الذي سببه زمن طويل من الحصار. ص d مشروع قلم EDITORS CHOICE @modScheherazade #projectpen If love conquered all you would have surrendered unconditionally to me. Instead your platitudes, politeness starved out my seige #projectpen @memanal Everyone was happy with the rain except for one little boy."I can't find a tissue big enough for all those falling tears"He said.#projectpen @ArdaWhateverian We compete in our defeat.And even though we know a part of us rots in vain, yet we choose to lose the blue that shapes the vein.#projectpen @muna0808 She curled her fingers around a cup of cardamom-spiced tea and squeezed against her grandmother’s ghost who smelled like soap.#projectpen @Lubnaaaa_ I look at him as he grieves over my death; a bodiless soul. I'm now his Lanore, and nevermore shall I be. @poeticsoulinme That brash tongue able to say things disconnected from his emotions, how easily he could let her go @Yasmindreams I always had a knack of being prodigious. I let my pendants deftly clink against each other because that's the way I like it. @TamaraAnani Dad are you going to kill grandmother? Father: Why would I do that?! Daughter: because she too talks on Skype @Minibajbaj Breath, she said..and he did... @shahdsh You were like Babylon; lie above lie above lie. And you were still beautiful. @lubnann #projectpen The shortest love story is that of a butterfly and a candle.. @agronburzum Weakness of the past , Like vapor in the trenches ,These lowlands haunted , By a man clad in frost , All evil deeds done @BeigeUnicorn He gazed into her eyes and saw a universe unlike any other. Speechless. Afraid of rejection. She said, "Hello"; Supernova. @Lubnaaaa Above their wrecked home, they played. They took away their souls, their home but not their hopes. #ProjectPen @ArdaWhateverian He was on good terms with all exes;ex-bosses,ex-girlfriends, exterminators.Nothing could kill a man who was dead to begin with.#Projectpen @ArdaWhateverian Words. That's all they had.Can't do much with them.Can't do much without. Smoldering. Conspiring. Promising. Life-giving. Words. @memanal He lied, they believed, history was written. #projectpen @ Lubnaaaa _ I look at him as he grieves over my death; a bodiless soul. I'm now his Lanore, and nevermore shall I be. #ProjectPen @mayahuneidi Looking around, she angrily wondered how the mountains could stand so peacefully when they were witness to so much pain. #projectpen @Remistami She was told that bad decisions make good stories. So she married him. @ZeenaKurd Ella stared at the seven moons glittering this odd habitat, smiling deep inside for successfuly choosing the room with the view. #projectpen @nedaa8080 Hatem is his name. After 5 years, his school let him down. He has Autism they said; we can no longer accommodate him. قصص مختارة @ MoradJarrah ّا للمجاز.قالت من على سرير ِ".الن وقد سقطتا،كيف تراني؟جذع يابس؟يخت منكوب؟ تب ّانتان تدشين للمرأة فيك "هاتان الرم الشفاء. @ ALNuha يا إلهي لم اتوقع بأن وجهي أصبح بهذه الحمرة وأنفي لونه كالمهرجين تماما *صوت من خلفها يقول : نعم فنحن في القارة المتجمدة ! @ noorfreedom لم تصبر على تفقد صفحتها على الفيس بوك لترى اي اشعار,ربما قام بوضع اعجاب او تعليق شيء ما, ال انها المزرعة السعيدة تتعسها من جديد @ OulaFarawati تأملت معرش الياسمين.حلمت بالنوم عليه كأميرة.قفزت فالتقطتهاالياسمينات للحظات،ثم هوت على الرض.استغرب كل من رأى جثتها من ابتسامتها @ alkawtheros منحتك كل عقلي فمنحتني كل غبائك قالتها بعصبية واضحة ممسكة بهاتفها الذكي .الذي توقف عن العمل فجأة .وقد احتفظت بجلّ معلوماتها عليه. @ Khulood_Sh كان تستفيق كل يوم على صوته من هاتف يبعد آلف الميال ليحمل لها ابتسامة الصبح واليوم تستفيق على صراخ 3 أولد،وما زالت تحب الصباح @ alkawtheros اتسعت حدقتاه لقصى حد وهويقف أمام صورة طبق الصل منه ،منحه الخير ابتسامة صفراء كمن يعلم وقع مفاجئة تجربة استنساخ ناجحة لول مرة @ matout قالت له من خلف الشاشة هل وجدت عروسا ؟ و اتاها الجواب سريعا على زاوية الشاشة بل ، تنهدت تنهيدة عميقة , سرحت في النافذة و ابتسمت @ SH_WASiM ظننت أن عالمها مختلف جدا لدرجة أن استكشافه يتطلب عشرين عاما من الصبر. وما أن ظننت أنني أكملت استكشافه حتى اختفى واختفت معه @ safiOO7 ردد البكاء في صدره و لم يستطع ان يتمالك نفسه عندما رآها أمامه فتحول ذلك الى عويل مكتوم مع ابتسامة مغصوصة. فقالت سأتعافى يا ولدي! @ ramajarmakani ً.. عاش فيه هو وحده!!!! ً... لدرجةٍ جعلت منه عالماً متكامل كان عقله كبير جدا @ shymaaelgizy ُلف قال لها:المر ككتاب الرجال من المريخ والنساء من الزهرة،بإندهاش سألته : وهل قرأت الكتاب ؟! فأجاب : قرأت الغ ُل شئ ّص ك الذي لخ @ ZMital النساء غالبا تبكي والرجال ل يبكون.. لكن عندما يبكى الرجال والنساء معا.. يموت الطفال.. @ Ayah204 عضت سندريل شفتها السفلى وهي تراقب خفية المير وهو يلتقط حذائها الزجاجي، لقد نفذت آخر خطوات خطتها، وبقي فقط ان تنتظر 77 @ Math ّه.. وعجبي!! الرجل يحب امرأة، يتزوج غيرها، في النهاية يشفق عليها.. المرأة تحبّ رجل، تتزوج آخر، في النهاية تحب @ absmutairi ً،.يبدو أنه انتبه لمتابعتي له، أبصرته جيداً كان يجيد الحضور والنصراف، في حياة من حوله في الوقت المناسب تماما ساتظاهر اني لم افعل @ DrfdeL ولد كصفر بلقيمة عومل كصفر تم اقصاءه فكل قيمة نتاجها صفر اذا ضرب فيها،اقتنع بقيمته حتى اتى شخص يزيد عليه بواحدة ووضعه على يمينه. @ ZainMN طرقت الجرس إلى أن فتحت أمه الباب.ناولتها الدبدوب الذي أهداها إياه في عيدالحب وقالت للم:المرة الجاي إذا بتنقيلي دب حولعه.بدي ذهب @ absmutairi وقبيل أن تموت من خيباتها المتكررة، وبعيد أن استبد بها الوجع،عرفت أن الناس ل يخذلونها، يخذلون فقط توقعاتها، وتألقت عيناها من جديد @ almugtaba10 كانت تبتسم لي قبل أن يقف المصعد فجأة لتدخل سيدة عجوز وأخرج أنا لتخفيف الحمولة,كانت تلك نهاية قصة حب إستمرت لخمسة )طوابق( كاملة @ ahmed_ihmeid هو شديد الهتمام بقضية السرى، ليس بهم تحديدا ولكن بعدد اليام التي يقضونها على الماء والملح، مهتم بقضية الرقام! STORIES OF LOVE @Remistami She was told that bad decisions make good stories. So she married him. @RamziArabi As he raises his eyes seeking the truth, their eyes met for instance, and he groaned as her marvellous glow invaded his blindness. @Anmar_G With sleepy eyes she watched him, she smiled & surrendered to sleep. She woke up again to realize it was only her daily dream. @RamziArabi That night before meeting her again, Inching down off my bed onto the floor, my body soaks in the heat of her flames. @AliaGharaibeh "Next, please “she yells at cash register queue. Candy, bread, pencils... As he walks away, she wonders if her ex-lover recognized her. @mabulhija They were 5 he was the sixth, discussing life problems, sharing dreams & hopes, stories about beautiful girls, and war. He is 20. @3ruba They are breaking up and She is crying she wants him she don't know that there's someone watching and dreaming to be with her. @AyshaShamayleh Flower boy in the autumn rain; whose woman earned you a scar down your sideburns? Better ache in romance, than poverty. @ToulineAlish Their eyes met after 10 years, and there was a flame. They didn't have each other, and only themselves to blame. @laith_aladham Before this is done. Before we grow old and grey. I promise, your face will be the last thing my eyes see before I go blind. @twimnc buried at work, by choice, neglecting the children she has with a man she loathes, guilt consumes her, but she buys more toys. @modScheherazade If love conquered all you would have surrendered unconditionally to me. Instead your platitudes, politeness starved out my siege. @AyshaShamayleh 3 summertime lovers fell. And she, in all her criminality, stood; i-am-an-electrocuting-phone- pole-inside-a-snowstorm tall. @AyshaShamayleh In the organ traffic, on bustling boulevard of youth, serve a kidney to your father. They'll bargain for the heart; it’s on sale now. @Safaa_15 She haunted him in every step, he enjoyed her company, she begged him to let her go, he didn't! She was part of his soul. True Love. @EnasAlmoankar He gave her his heart when he should have stolen her... And that's where the story went from a love story to a complicated one. @Safaa_15 She never thought it was possible to fall, He said aren't we human, we go through it all! Both felt it and couldn't end it. @Nama_B Cold feet, nosebleeds, awaiting the sun to rise; only to see the 242nd day of eternal darkness turn into purple rain. @twimnc Every corner of every cafe, every park bench, numerous songs, university notebooks, even cars had memories of her unrequited love. @ muna 0808 Listening to Mozart, she waited for that pick-me-up moment slaving away at digits on a screen. He made her blue, yes that too. #projectpen @ AmmarMajali When he touched his just born son, he felt that everything contained the mustard seed of divinity. #projectpen @ girl _ brainy "I would never forget. You're too important to me." She remembered saying that. Her heart ached. She was never important to him. #projectpen @ mariamkhafagy But who didn’t like surprises?! Especially such a warm and sweet surprise that caused every atom of her being to tingle. #projectpen @ iHuthaifa Scattering like the glass of a broken window, falling apart like a shooting star; "her heart after hearing his sword-like words."#ProjectPen @muna0808 Mother made me meet him. He was sizing me up, breeding hips, ok face. I snubbed him. I have a PhD. A PhD. #projectpen @ AmmarMajali "You are a divine woman, but nevertheless a woman, and like every woman ..cruel in love" was his message on the nightstand.#projectpen @ ZeinaAlamat Even him liking her was a mere reflection of his arrogance... Something they both share! #projectpen @ AmmarMajali she just realised how grey her finger tips are from the fire of love.#projectpen @ umlulee Her shaky hand barely lit up her cigarette "I don’t care" she said & didn't even notice her finger burning against the filter. #projectpen @ muna 0808 After we broke up I passed out on the floor with a jar of peanut butter. I woke up laughing at my dog licking it off my face. #projectpen @ laith _ aladham Dear Starlet, I missed you last night more than I have in a while. It was a night when I need your care. Yours, Dreamer. #projectpen @ CerineQaraqish Turn off the rainbow and just count the clouds....." twinkle twinkle " isn't how a winter night sounds. #ProjectPen @ Sheeshany You don`t have to see, you need to feel it, if I`m not on my knees or u can`t hear my heart racing with weep it doesn`t mean I`m not. #projectpen @poeticsoulinme It all began with an apology. But she believed whole-heartedly in love. He was never really sorry. #projectpen @ Lubnaaaa _ Leaves were starting to fall one after the other. Seasons were starting to change. She had to move on, for everything else was. #ProjectPen @ Mayousef He turned away from her, yet she finds pleasure in the tragedy of his deliberate absence. #projectPen #TrueStory @ umlulee She didn't know what to say &silently stared down at her wet boots. He wrapped his jacket around her &she knew it will be okay. #projectpen @ Ajordanian My dream girl... Met her, loved her and married her... then I learnt who I was and that dream was not mine. #ProjectPen @ TamaraAnani She: what if I was drops of rain? He: I would raise up my hands to collect and contain you. #projectpen @ mariamkhafagy What happened to all of his promises, she wondered. Ha! What a fool! You fell for the same lies, her subconscious replied. #projectpen @ mabulhija she was amazingly quite, not disturbed by me staring, busy reading a book, slowly moving her finger on the page, teasing my senses. #ProjectPen @ NatashaShesha I miss the love that used to fill up my days... But I miss it with someone I never met. #Projectpen @ safsaf 2 Different he is, they talked, laughed and fought. She ended up wishing the impossible and wanting him to be more than a friend. #projectpen @ RamziArabi At that cafe, he never talked to her, although his eyes always composed the lyrics of passion and her eyes played the melodies. #Projectpen @ MishkaMM 1 They donned each other for size. He found her too tight. He spent his life in dressing rooms, discarding women who were not she. #ProjectPen @ FatenkhalilM #projectpen "I would like to try to have you for a while" she said sincere as a child asking for a new toy... @ LaroshWahied Most of the nights, when I’m sitting alone I wonder how you spend your nights, do you even remember me ??!!!!! #projectpen @ ArdaWhateverian -"You made her so mad, she's on the verge of tears." -"That's awful! What is she going to do?!" -"Change her Facebook status."#projectpen @ FarahAlsadi They die a little inside when they see an old man sitting alone...#Projectpen @ Draumstafir When I look back I think it’s all the in between stuff that made our story. Like when we smoked cigarettes and talked about X-me. #projectpen @ BeigeUnicorn The sirens stopped for the first time in close to a month, blood washed away with tears of grief, it stopped raining. #Gaza #ProjectPen @ MoradJarrah "Why can't I find a happy ending to any of your novels?" A reporter asks. "Because I write about women with hearts." He answers. #projectpen @ Sheeshany Where to this time?/to the road never travelled/back in?/definitely maybe I`ll be back/ “watched her leave &whispered (only you!)”. #projectpen @ thejudeodeh Concluding her speech, she yelled to the crowd: 'I shall always be the voice of the voiceless!' Then, the bullet silenced her. #ProjectPen @ poutmeter She captivated him, heart and soul; he was chained, unable to break free. Yet, in his clenched fist, he felt the bite of the key. #projectpen @ Lubnaaaa _ "Useless." He whispered to himself as he looked out the window, "This heart of mine, does nothing but ache." #ProjectPen @ smaldosari “Did u see my hypocrisy mask” he shouted to his wife. “Just beside your lying mask, at the 2nd drawer of masks”. She replied. #projectpen @ MissTwitkin "Mommy, how did Daddy die?!", "A hero!" her mom whispered in a trembling smile, embracing the scar he left when he walked out...#ProjectPen @ ranihasan She smiled, he knew it was about time. She went to his house, and left. He went, never came back. She holds a memory, in her womb. #projectpen @ LAWGA He looked at her, she looked back, he smiled, she smiled back, he asked for a Big Mac Chicken, she said 4 dollars. #MacDonald #projectpen @Ola_Eliwat She was used to being disappointed. Every SMS was spam, every twitter follower was an egg & every friend request was a perv. #projectpen @ tonya _ ukr Every day we write our life stories in destiny diaries and continue to believe, hope and love. #ProjectPen @ Ethar _ #projectpen it's never too late to hug your real father, I miss you :D # قصة_حقيقية @ ChrisMallouk She said I'll never give my LOVE to anyone unless he’s THE ONE. She ended up with leftovers of the heart thinking every other man the THE ONE. #projectpen @__ genita Dreams connects people even when they are far apart because it shows what is inside their hearts #ProjectPen @ Reitenaur To his eyes she was the moon; always the same but ceaselessly changing #projectpen @ SBouslim Change is never comfortable nor love ever easy, Sometimes it takes leaving to find something worth believing. 2/2 #ProjectPen @ SBouslim I never believed that things happened for a reason, Never took comfort in the changing of the season. 1/2 #ProjectPen @ safsaf 2 He said he'll write her story in a book, he ended up adding a chapter with no closure to her life. #projectpen STORIES OF INNOCENCE @muna0808 She rested on Lucky’s neck. Lucky neighed. A crunching sound. Lucky ran! She landed in the dirt with a plastic bag over her head. @muna0808 Click. Mom lulled baby to sleep. Click. Dad carried in groceries. Click. We ran to school. Click. Click. I saw a bomb. @Salmanims As her blood drained, she marvelled at the irony of being killed in the name of honour by the very man who raped her for years. @phuti_n The streets were now empty, full of guns, bullet shells, and corpses, laughter silenced, smiles gone, mothers picked up corpses. @ArdaWhateverian "Don't u want to throw up sadness & toss the demons?" -"It's a mad world, princess. We’re drowning in vomit & bathing in puke." @ EHamdallah What kind of world do we live in? A world where lions & deers are more merciful towards each other. Pray & predator are civilized. #ProjectPen @ mariamkhafagy There is only me and you in this universe. There are only our dreams and our reality in this life. #projectpen @ ArdaWhateverian She was ready to write her life story when she realized all the pens had run out of ink. So she wrote it in the skies instead. #ProjectPen @ AmmarMajali The third world / the graveyard of the rich/ Dump the damaged on their homes. #projectpen @ Lubnaaaa _ Forgiveness made her feel weightless; there was no more hate to hold her down. #projectpen @ ReemQuttineh He'd single-handedly raised her, but no amount of sacrifice could change the inevitable. They pulled the plug. He lost his reason to live. #ProjectPen @ TamaraAnani Dad are you going to kill grandmother? Father: Why would I do that?! Daughter: because she too talks on Skype. #amman #projectpen @OulaFarawati Dancing in the rain sounded better than it actually is... Life sounds better than it actually is; she philosophised. #projectpen