لا سكاكين في مطابخ هذه المدينة - There are no knives in the kitchens of this city

فكّر بأنّ الصمت قد يقوده إلى التهلكة لكنّه صمت. فكّر بالبشر الذين يبحثون عن القوّة ليهزموا البطش، شعر بأنّه ضعيف، وما اعتقده طوال عمره عن قوّة الهشاشة تبخّر فجأة. تركها تغادر. قبّلته على خدّه ولم يهتمّ لكلماتها التي امتدحت طيبته. أسوأ ما حدث له رغبته في صورتها الجديدة، وسؤاله عن معنى أن تكون طيّباً. كره صورته حين كان طفلاً يحاول الجميع تشجيعه على صورة الرجل السمين المهذّب، بنظّارة طبّية وثياب مكويّة، يضحك بصوت منخفض ويتودّد إلى الأطفال والحيوانات الأليفة. كره أمّه وأباه ومرشّحهما كابرييل الشامي، وأساتذته في مدرسة المأمون، وراعي الكنيسة الذي كان يوقفه في الصفّ الأوّل حين ينشد مع الكورال فخوراً بملابسه الأنيقة ونسبه العائلي. He knew silence may lead him to ruin, yet he remained silent. he thought of the humans who seek strength to overcome oppression; yet he felt weak, and what he believed all his life about the power of fragility suddenly evaporated. He let her leave. She kissed him on the cheek, and he did not care for her words that praised his kindness. The worst thing that happened to him was his desire for her new image and his questioning of the meaning of being kind. He hated his image when he was a child, everyone trying to encourage him to embody the image of a polite, overweight man, with prescription glasses and neatly ironed clothes, laughing softly and cozying up to children and pets. He hated his mother and father and their election's nominee Gabriel Shamieh, and his teachers at AlMa'mun School, and the church usher who used to stand him at the front row when he sang with the choir, proud of his elegant attire and his family lineage.