How the guardian was removed from the collection of stories. Those who know me might be surprised that I write short stories, as I'm known for writing articles and intellectual, political, and analytical studies published in various newspapers (Al-Akhbar in Lebanon, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, and Al-Arab in London) and magazines (Al-Adab in Lebanon). My contributions are translated into other languages (English, French, Spanish, and Italian), while I kept stories hidden like a precious treasure: a personal matter entirely! At a later stage, I shared some with close friends, who had a unanimous response: publish them! My dear friend Mona Al-Assi volunteered to type the stories scattered on many sheets of paper with poor handwriting, with annotations in the form of arrows and references, making organizing them a true puzzle-solving task! She also volunteered to comment on and critique them as a true reader should! Afterward, I had a pleasant collection of stories that my kind friends vouch for! I was not convinced until that moment, so I sent them to a great writer and dear friend, the only one who could lift the burden from my chest: Sonallah Ibrahim. His warm response was, "... Truly a surprise! I followed your writings, and I never imagined you'd write stories too! The stories are beautiful and immediately touch the heart because of the wonderful, strong and cohesive language, and the 'new romanticism' they're filled with..." I made my decision (or rather, Sonallah made it for me!), and this book was born... Hisham Al-Bustani was known to many as a relentless activist in a world of changes and frustrations, driven by his high human sensitivity in the various fronts he engages in, most recently the front of literature. I did not know him as a storyteller, which is why I was surprised by his stories, and I thought that the warrior wanted to rest a little and reflect on his surroundings. His strong and solid language immediately caught my attention, taking the reader into his vast world, where the freshness of love is felt amidst despair. A new kind of romance that celebrates the simple human desire for connection, condemning the barriers between people, the horror of suppression, oppression, and torture, and the suffocation in crowded buses. Where the poor "are backgrounds for the rich, who sit upon them thus burdening them," they bang their heads against the wall: "Is there hope? Is there a God? Is there really a Guevara?"... Hisham answers the question that worries many: "From underneath the superficial layers, the fire liquid emerges, in which swims the dark mermaid Ereshkigal." So it truly is a surprise: beautiful stories, immediately touching the heart, in wonderful, cohesive language filled with 'new romanticism'... Sonallah Ibrahim. Dr. Hisham Al-Bustani was born in Amman in 1975 and resides there, practicing dentistry as a profession, while writing articles and studies published in Arab and non-Arab newspapers and magazines. He passionately engages in public work, serving as the Secretary General of the Socialist Thought Forum in Jordan, a founding member of the Arab People's Resistance Coalition, and an activist in anti-normalization and freedom committees. He has participated as an organizer and speaker in many Arab and international conferences and forums against hegemony, globalization, and imperialism. He has been writing short stories since 1997 but not publishing them, and this is his first collection.