A two-sided story — Part 2
“Do you have a last wish?”
I was not sure if that was the right thing to say. I said it because anything would do to break that terrible silent atmosphere. I had only seen similar situations in the movies and series that I used to watch before the times of war came and changed everything forever. I also said it because I thought that’s how things should be.
I was pointing my gun towards the face of a kneeling, handcuffed and unoffensive man. From a third person’s perspective, you wouldn’t doubt that I was the one in the strongest…
Defect #1: Assuming that people care. Well, they don’t. And that’s good news.
We have some good news and some bad news for you: Bad news is, nobody cares about you. The good news is, acknowledging it is going to change your life for the better, forever.
The truth is, we are basing all of our interactions on assumptions. We are such self-absorbed species that we often assume the people around us are waiting for our next move to examine it. We assume they would react in that way if you do that thing, so maybe we shouldn’t do that thing after all. This can be paralyzing. Short answer is, no one has…
A family lunch that turned into chaos
“Would you like some salad my darling?”
Said his step-mother as she held the bowl of salad towards him. Her unreasonably large and feigned smile and her acute unpleasant voice were too much for him to handle during a whole other lunch with her.
“No, thank you Susie.”
“I would love to hear you call me Mom, darling.”
With his father’s entreating eyes asking him to just do what he was asked to, he surrendered with a hesitating and fed-up tone that he intentionally made clear through his voice.
“No, I don’t want the salad, Mom.”
He backfired at her…
A short story
After accomplishing two and a half years of traveling, he dropped the anchor when he reached the coast of Porto, where he had started his journey.
He appeared to be holding a thin and rather robust rope ball in his hands that he was unfolding as he left his catamaran and walked out of the water.
He looked exhausted. His movements were slow. The fatigue of the journey had drawn a few more wrinkles on his already creased face. …
Une fiction inspirée de personnages et de faits réels et autres fictifs
Entre 10 000 et 5000 av. J.-C. — Afrique Du Nord
Plusieurs milliers d’années avant notre époque, un peuple, fuyant la guerre et une terre infertile, échoua sur les plages vierges de l’Afrique du Nord par centaines après avoir miraculeusement survécu à un périple de plus de deux mois en mer.
Yunus, doyen de la tribu depuis 80 ans, proclamé guide suprême, affirma, à l’approche du littoral, qu’il était de mauvais présage de poser les pieds sur terre ferme par temps de nuits, et qu’il fallait attendre l’aube avant de descendre des pirogues.
Le guide, avait les oreilles décollées faisant deux fois la taille d’une oreille ordinaire et affichait une marque…
A prophecy emanating from the future
“Take a seat, younger self.”
I was 16 years old when I had met him. He was 80 years old. I was him, only younger. He was me, only older. He seemed to know that I was coming. He didn’t look directly at me as I leaned to sit next to him.
I had followed my guide’s instructions thoroughly until I reached the meeting spot. I joined my 80-year-old self who was sitting on a bench in front of a lake. His can was standing against the edge of the bench. His hat was posed next to him on his…
An infallible technique to commit to writing
Until a few months ago, I was what I would call an ‘occasional writer’. It used to take me four or five days to be able to put together a solid story ready, and a few days more to summon up my courage to publish it.
I was fascinated, and I still am, by the ability of many writers here to come up with some high quality and diversified content very regularly, in many cases on a daily basis.
The Three Drafts Rule
I decided to take up the challenge: Commit myself to write on a regular basis.
Yes, it is a commitment. I…
A splash into the thoughts and emotions during a transition night to adulthood (Tunis, Tunisia — August, 13th 2018)
A couple of hours past midnight. Exiting the residential district of L’Aouina. Towards the National Route 9.
Earlier that night, I met with some of my friends at their place after my internship, for our traditional after-work. It was the last day of my internship and officially the last day of my student life.
I pull up the window switches with my index and my middle fingers to open simultaneously the car’s front windows and let a puff of fresh air in to caress my boiling face.
Leaving L’Aouina. Driving along the National Route 9.
Starting from next year, I…
When was the last time you lost track of time during a conversation?
I was in my hometown for the weekend. She lives there. She was just back home after a couple of months abroad. We took the opportunity to finally meet and catch up.
“Yes! I saw that video, and I loved it! I actually thought about texting you when I did. It reminded me of what we talked about last time.”
“That ‘Send’ button didn’t work again, huh?”
“Stop it! Actually, I did not get to that point, I didn’t even type a message.” She lets out an embarrassed laugh before she continues. …
A surprising parallel through brain training, patterns, and adaptability
Lack of time and the underbelly of life might play a role in holding us from fully exploring all of our passions. Fortunately, this plurality is still possible to embrace in some other different ways. But, that’s a whole different story.
Organizational skills: The mother of all skills
Working as an IT consultant and Product Owner for the last couple of years with a rising startup gave me the opportunity, above all, to improve my organizational skills on a personal scale and for my team as a whole.
Being organized is a special and magical tool that constitutes the base of the pyramid of all your other…
Omar Gahbiche
Eyes on the screen during the day, eyes on the stars at night. Fascinated by that moment when words magically get in line when I type on my keyboard.
