Date: April 22, 2025
Author: Alex Monroe
I’ve been feeling guilty about something that happened nearly two years ago, and I guess it’s finally catching up with me. It’s not something I talk about, not even to my closest friends. But lately, the weight of it has been gnawing at me, and I need to get it off my chest.
It all started with a phone. A simple iPhone, one that was supposed to be recycled. The store next to us, a phone store, had a problem. They received a trade-in, but the phone’s battery was swollen, so they couldn’t take it. They had to get rid of it, and somehow, it ended up in my store.
I know it sounds trivial, but here’s what happened. The phone was tossed into our recycling bin. They asked us to dispose of it properly, and it wasn’t even ours to begin with. But I remember looking at it. I don’t know why, but I just couldn’t leave it there. Maybe it was curiosity, maybe something else—maybe it was the thrill of the moment—but I took it out of the bin. I felt like I needed it, even though I knew I shouldn’t.
I didn’t think much of it at the time. I tucked the phone into my bag, went home, and that was that. I justified it to myself, told myself it was just trash anyway, no one was going to miss it. But now, years later, I can’t stop thinking about it. The guilt keeps creeping in. That phone wasn’t mine. It wasn’t meant for me. And I still don’t know why I took it.
I didn’t sell it or use it for anything bad. I didn’t even keep it for long. But the fact that I took something that wasn’t mine, something that had been meant for proper disposal, just eats at me. The people at the store never noticed it was missing. No one was hurt, but I can’t shake the feeling that I crossed a line, that I did something that, even though small, wasn’t right.
It feels silly to be haunted by something like this, but the guilt won’t go away. I guess I’m just trying to come to terms with it, hoping that by putting it into words, I can let it go. But I don’t know if I will.
