الطاحونة الضائعة - The lost mill

هذا ما تحاول املي نصر الله ان تبلغنا ، في ما تضمه هذه المجموعة الجديدة من قصصها الملونة لا بالاحداث وحسب ، بل باللغة والاسلوب الذي يترجح بيت الصراحة والتورية ، وبين الجد والعبث ، تماما كما هي الحياة In this collection of short stories, Emily Nasrallah, a pioneer of village and diaspora literature, addresses the suffering of displacement, war, and nostalgia that have affected Lebanese society. She narrates the pains and hopes of both young and old through reflections and letters they write to relatives and loved ones. In "Jabal AlSendian," the geology scholar Samer addresses his mother and seeks forgiveness after spending years in exile in pursuit of knowledge. He falls in love with a woman and builds a new family, but eventually, nostalgia for the village and the flammable stones of Jabal AlSendian overwhelms him, prompting him to decide to return. The estrangement from the countryside does not only affect those who leave the country but also the city dwellers. In "The Lost Mill," a mother from the city takes her daughter to the estate, and memories resurface about the mill, but she discovers that the mill, like memories, is buried in a past that will not return.With her head bowed, she walked alongside the little girl on the way back, dragging her feet and stumbling in disappointment... And that's why she didn't notice a stone whose letters she despised, emerging from beneath the rubble, obstructing her steps. A choked scream escaped her, and she would have fallen if not for the little girl's supporting arm... In that moment, reality flashed in her eyes like a shattered lightning bolt. She stumbled over the millstone. There she stands atop the ruins of the mill, her precious old mill, buried here under layers of river debris and the passage of years... Other stories in the book tell the tales of the Lebanese war, the physical and psychological siege of children hiding in shelters, and adults sitting behind closed shutters near the frontlines.