"I Am the Guilty One — Not of Others, But of Myself"
By Afzal Ahamed Malik
In life, I once dreamed with clarity.
I planned, I prepared, I walked paths I believed were mine.
But life — cruel, unpredictable —
Did not unfold the way I had written it in my heart.
What I waited for never came.
What I never expected… arrived uninvited.
The people I trusted drifted.
The moments I prayed for were taken by silence.
And today, if someone asks me,
“Who is to blame?”
I do not point fingers at fate, society, or time.
I am the guilty one.
Not of hurting others,
But of betraying myself.
Of trusting too soon.
Of staying too long.
Of believing when I should have questioned.
Of remaining silent when I should have roared.
I am not innocent —
Not in the courtroom of my own conscience.
But my guilt is not crime…
It is pain — born from my own expectations.
And yet, I rise each day,
Not to erase my past,
But to forgive it.
Because even a guilty heart can still beat for justice.
Even a broken soul can still shine with truth.
"گناہگار ہوں میں... دوسروں کا نہیں، اپنا"
تحریر: افضال احمد ملک