Editor's Note: The author is a Syrian citizen who is not being identified for security reasons.
At first, New Year's Eve in Damascus promised little more than a cozy family gathering to a backdrop of TV.
My older relatives had been looking forward to watching the famous astrologers who predict events for the New Year.
"Let's see what 2013 has in store for us," one of my elderly relatives said. "Inshallah there's some good news for Syria."
Like many Damascenes, most of my friends and relatives have long left town, fleeing the violence that began to plague Damascus last summer.
The few who remain often feel sequestered inside their isolated pockets. They are cut off from me, and each other, by the serpentine labyrinth of road blocks and checkpoints that now define Damascus.
Depressed and laden with survivor guilt, none wanted to make an effort to come out and celebrate.
So I resigned myself to the only apparent New Year's Eve plan available.
But a surprise text message appeared on my phone.
"Dinner?" it said. It was from a colleague, a European writer on a visit to Damascus. I shall call her Maya.
"Sure," I responded.
We could stick to the small patch of the city that was still strictly under regime control. Rebels have not yet arrived there, and regime forces are not yet shelling it. Life still had some semblance of normalcy.
I thought we would have a quiet meal out, then retire early. I had no idea that our evening would develop into a bizarre and sometimes sad, but festive, countdown to 2013.
I picked her up, and upon arrival in the Old City we felt disheartened to find none of the usual decorations of the season.
In 2010, no tree had been spared the festive, small white lights in some parts of the city, including the predominantly Sunni Muslim areas.
Now, on New Year's Eve, even the Christian Quarters went dark. Hardly anyone was out and about. A subdued atmosphere, combined with power cuts, were to blame.
Electricity generators droned in the background as Maya and I lit up a flashlight to guide us through the uneven cobblestone alleys.
Finally, we arrived at our destination. An exquisitely restored traditional Damascene home; Narenj Restaurant, where the likes of Sting, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie used to dine and wine.
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