"I arrived at the garden an hour before my appointment with Rima. I drank in the scent of coffee from a plastic cup I brought with me. I also drank in my longing for Rabih and my anger at him. I thought about writing to him so as not to break the game of silence between us. I wanted to write to him about my urgent desire to become a mother. What do I write to Rabih now? How can a life and the project of a new life be written? I want him to be calm, to just love me and trust me, for me to sleep on his chest every night and have the scent of my hair, which he adores, fill his nose. In books, I find Rabih. I find him everywhere and in everything; in the most beautiful pages, I read his eyes. I also carry him with me in the black book."

Hala Kouthrani is a Lebanese journalist and writer. She is the managing editor of 'Laha' magazine, published by Dar Al-Hayat, where she writes a weekly article. Her first novel, "The Last Week," was published by Dar Al-Saqi.

• Publishing House: Dar Al Saqi
• Author: Hala Kouthrani
• Year of Publication: 2008
• Number of Pages: 120
• ISBN: 9781855163072