King’s Cross Station

King’s Cross Station in London symbolizes a crossroads, both literal and metaphorical, marking a moment of departure and transition. It is where Khaled says goodbye to Hosam as his friend embarks on a new life in California, embracing change and possibility. For Khaled, the station represents a point of stasis and hesitation: while Hosam moves forward, Khaled remains rooted in his London exile, unable or unwilling to leave the life that confines him. The station thus embodies themes of separation, choice, and the contrasting paths of movement versus inertia.

“The Given and The Taken”

Hosam’s short story “The Given and The Taken,” in which a cat slowly devours a man’s body while he passively allows it, symbolizes the gradual erosion of freedom and dignity under authoritarianism. The man tolerates the cat eating small parts of him, believing each loss is...