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Mădălina
A novel
By
Ashraf Mesmar
1
Coming and going at the train station, which he remembers in detail, even though it's his first time there. This is not due to technological advancements or the spying of Google Maps, which scans every corner of the earth, nor to the so-called smart phone, which brings the world closer and puts it in your hands.
One moment of passion gives you and ingrains in you more information than knowledge and Google combined, making you memorize the city map and its streets, landmarks, and places that will witness many moments of connection and happiness.
One moment of passion makes you master a language that was once foreign to you, a language with many difficulties but also with beauty as captivating as Arabic. Abundant synonyms at any slight modification in meaning.
Coming and going at the train station that manipulates the heart's adrenaline level, he checks the departure and arrival screen, knowing that he has saved the train's arrival time exactly: 3:11. He is certain of the accuracy of these schedules, as the transportation and train network operates with extreme precision. It is strange how this extreme punctuality in train schedules travels thousands of kilometers to arrive exactly on time. He looks back at the arrival schedule screen and checks his watch again.
He feels the weight of time , he has spent over two hours walking from the hotel to the station. He looks around, admiring the place, the people, and the language, despite his ignorance of everything and everyone in the city.
He will fall in love with this country and this city, as well as other cities within it. The café here and the cup of coffee there. This park with its flowers and trees, including the giant tree that may require seven men's arms to surround it.
This seat is shaped like coloring pencils and that wooden table, and this small kiosk resembles Smurf houses...
He walked for over two hours, taking the longest route with his steps.
Perhaps when we walk, we release a part of our intellectual energies and concerns, and become lighter and more capable of traveling far in our imaginations, dreams, and contemplations...
Two hours of walking towards the meeting station, completely contrasting its counterpart towards the airport after nine months later..
At the train station, he moves between the train platform and the McDonald's facing it. He had chosen the McDonald's logo in the restaurant as a mark point for the meeting.
He looks at that small table in the corner, with two simple chairs, next to that young man who embraces his girlfriend's hand, and his gaze draws a world far from the noise and crowds of the place.
He passes by a beautiful rural flower seller, with those simple and unpretentious features, away from makeup powders and cosmetic surgeries that some women undergo, thinking that it is beauty. This makes many women look alike without considering that each woman has her own beauty and that every woman is beautiful.
