رواية أحبها بلا ذاكرةللروائي التونسي الأمين السعيدي الطبعة الإنكليزية

مقطع من رواية:أحبها بلا ذاكرة للروائي التونسي الأمين السعيدي
الطبعة الانجليزية
Chapter One: The Dog and the Flock

Look at those distant meadows to which my childhood dreams were attached, and where I used to shepherd at summer and spend the short breaks! God bless Sheikh Ezahi Ben Bornia, amongst his virtues was his generosity; in addition to paying my salary, he used to pay for my studies.
I had been a shepherd in the days of my childhood and youth.
Oh pine tree brunch, you should remember the days of joy and rupture; the old days of happiness, when we used to move from one place to another in the college of arts: in the library and the pub; and between the walls, where we used to dream of a good life on a land that would only tire its children.
Look at that dog, which guides its flock in front of the college; it’s great by its own, but scurvy before the flock.
She: But it is a leader, and a leader is sacred. They are fond of following dogs.
He: They or we; it doesn’t matter. And who are we if they are this way?
She: We are the elite; we are science, knowledge, humanity and sense.
He: Sense? How much I hate this word! It’s death. In a savage community, sense kills.
She: Nothing can kill me as soon as you are with me.
He: Since I met you for the first time at the beginning of this decade, my attitude about life, the universe and humanity has changed; I no longer care about what is happening.
She: At the beginning of this decade? So before seven years! I can’t remember how time has gone in this place. But for love and feelings of happiness with you, these years would have been like a prison.
He: Years in prison!? But, after two years you will be called “the charming doctor” in the neighborhood; it is science and knowledge darling!
She: (face-palming) you are larger than this universe. You are heading towards alienation…! I want you; there is no life without you.
He: You, my mother, those places I visited when I was young, and this great wall are things for which I loved life.
He added -while running his finger through her long yellow hair-: “Like this beauty and softness and those old dreams that made me fly up high, there is a balance of energy and fertility in my heart. Neither this dry, that you see surrounding the land, nor those wishes, that were assassinated, could kill that shining light in my heart. This light has a constant source: you’re life jasmine fragrance!”
She: Last night, you told me about the poor and I am not used to you being tough on the vulnerable. They are victims of greed, envy and malice. But you carry the burden of stillness, confusion and turmoil…
He: It is the dog, Afef; if the flock were free, the dog would have not led them to the carrions dumped on the edges of the valley. They do not see the grass under their feet that they pass by while looking at the leader, and in the evening they return with empty stomachs and unpleasant smells…
I felt the flock’s smell one evening; their smell has now spread over the neighbouring cities and villages. It is now reaching the hills and ascending the mounts. It continues stretching and spreading…
Afef: Now I recognized that it reached the poor.
He: The carrions’ smell is strong and more spreading. It is the outcome of of savagery, Afef. They (the poor) are its source, although I have been warning them for decades, while spreading roses and perfume.
Afef: But the rich inhabit my city, and nothing brings them together!
He: The poor are more dispersed and divided, whereas power brings the rich together.
Afef: The poor won’t rule; the road to power is tough and money is the only way to it.
He: Even beauty, good, and celebrity can’t be achieved without money.
She: I don’t think so; beauty is an esoteric culture and ‘the gift of God’.
He: You may have not met our neighbour, the football player, who joined a great football team; he is black and ugly looking…
Afef: There is a unique beauty in the black skin; how would he change his colour…?
He: But in his blackness, he sees defect and deficiency.
Afef: He is just like the lady who made of herself a subject to creating justice and equality.
He: let’s come back to the dog and the flock… Homelands got tired.
Afef: Only if we change, will the situation of the flock change….
He: But, who are we Afef?
Afef: We are those who talk about beauty, fertility; and we dream so we draw, write, sing and love…
We pretend, but we don’t have the courage to act.
He: I see, love you more.
Afef: This means that your love has not been full, has it been now?
He: You are a great story; whenever I reread it, I find out more. Love should not stop and end; oh jasmine flower, love generates and deepens!
Afef: Look at that thick darkness on Al-Souan Mountain, I think it’s a flock of migrating birds?
He: I saw it, a flock of migrating birds move, but Al-Souan Mountain overlooks the President’s Palace, and this darkness is constant. Should they be the poor?
Afef: I don’t think so; the poor don’t come together.
He: It’s the poor darling, no doubt. I recognized them from darkness. Darkness unites the poor when angry.
Afef: You are odd. You have just told me about the poor’s stupidity, and you said that they don’t come together and they don’t conjoin, or you were telling me about the flock and the dog?
He: It’s certain that the dog fell into the well near wadi Al-Ghorbaan; then, the flock broke up and the poor gathered near the Palace.
Afef: What are they calling for? What do they need?
He: They need love.
Afef: Love…!
He: Yes, love…
Afef: I told you I’m afraid you might suffer from madness and suicide … you didn’t react. We don’t call for love; love comes to us unconditionally.
He: Oh Afef, I love you.
Afef: And I loved you unconditionally; you didn’t ask for that.
He: Indeed, but human love doesn’t have static rules.
Afef: Aah, what if the rich love the poor and the ruler loves the land the way I love you Adenen.
Adenen: That darkness is the poor alone, asking for their right to live in dignity; they are teaching their children so that coming generations will be different from this one in loving land and life. The poor’s teachings are holy and eternal in their children’s hearts. The ruler fears their valour and revolution. Starvation drives its victims to revenge.
Afef: Now, I understood why our city’s inhabitants are of this silence and suspicious peace. Wealth is like a drug; it kills the mind and the body.
Adnen: This land, which lovers didn’t visit, is tasteless; the clothes that you didn’t wear have no elegance; and the perfumes that are not in your closet are impure water. This soft body, this pure soul, these magic words, and this tremendous mind are my victories over a community of savage and selfishness.