كانت القهوة ملقفًا لكل هذا وأشبه بالتَّكِئَة أو المَرْسَى لمن يأتي أو يذهب، وكعادة أهل الريف الكل يطلق لسانه ويثرثر فيما يخصه أو لا يخصه.
The café caught all of this; it was a resting place, a harbour for whoever came or went, and as country people do, everyone let his tongue loose about what concerned him and what did not.
From the novel Habashi’s Café · Chapter 1
Words of a narrator or a character belong to the novel's world, not to the author's personal views.
Habashi’s Café
Habashi’s Caféضاقت عليك الدنيا يا حبشي، سَمُّ الخِياطِ صار أوسَع منها..
The world has closed in on you, Habashi; the eye of a needle has become wider than it.
Habashi’s Caféطمعت في فرج الله والرزق الحلال، ولك الحمد والشكر يا رب، رحمتني وأكرمتني ولعلَّك سامحتني.. الناس! الناس هم مشكلتي في هذه الحياة! لا الكبير فيهم ولا حتى الصغير احترمني يومًا أو كانت في قلبه فَتفُوتَة رحمة!
I hoped for God's relief and an honest living, and praise and thanks to You, Lord: You showed me mercy and perhaps You forgave me. People! People are my problem in this life! Not one of them, old or young, ever respected me or had a crumb of mercy in his heart!
Habashi’s Caféلم يكُنْ حُبًّا وإن شُبِّه له ذلك، كان شيئًا مختلفًا، شيء أعمَق وربما أوسَع وأرحَب من الحب الذي نعرفه، كان احتياجًا، ولعلَّ الاحتياج إذا دام واتصل تولَّدت عنه محبَّةٌ كبيرة، والعكس ليس دائمًا صحيحًا.
It was not love, though it seemed so to him; it was something different, deeper and perhaps wider and more spacious than the love we know. It was need, and need, if it lasts and goes on, may give birth to a great affection; the reverse is not always true.