Orange-colored ball

I received the "Etisalat" 2021 award in the "Chapter Book" category. I will resend these messages to you, so you can read them and see how things have become reversed after twenty years. I am now writing to you from inside my clinic in the village, and you are receiving it from me while you live in a very big city, in a country far away from our village. I just want to say to you: I wish I had attended that match! Summary There is a secret in those forgotten villages across our Arab countries, the secluded, old, and distant villages. There is a close relationship, innocence with a special flavor, warmth, and distinctive tenderness that envelops their borders, as it was in the past, and in what remains of their days in the present, which makes us think again about our modern social behaviors—very cold, very formal, and negative. In this text, the author showcases the ability of Wissam, the story’s hero, who is eight years old, to remember the names of all the village characters, where "everyone knows everyone." It highlights the simplicity of a small child gathering the baker, the butcher, the school teacher, and the grandmother in a "basketball game," and how simply they can come together around a positive sports idea without complication or overthinking. This text demonstrates how a child like Wissam possesses determination and confidence that enable him to make a direct change in society, by personally mobilizing its members and using their different skills to create change. The story is written with simple words, reflecting the simplicity of the villagers, allowing a child to follow the events with an understanding of the literary tone presented—"Letter Literature." The reader sees messages from only one side… from Wissam’s side, without seeing his brother Hossam’s responses, because Wissam can cleverly express what’s on his mind despite sometimes having a simple understanding of things, including his first message where he scolded Hossam for not revealing the type of gift he sent him. Wissam thought it was a football, played with it with his friends, then discovered it was a basketball. The story also reveals Wissam’s challenge to the idea of the “new game” that the villagers do not know; he learns its principles and shares a day full of unforgettable events with his simple village people. Number of pages: 71 Size: 23 × 15