I am currently reading a book called The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. The story continues after the betrayal as their friendship falls apart, and Amir gets distant from Hassan. Amir still feels like his father is disappointed in him for not meeting his expectations, so he goes and wins a local kite-flying competition, in hopes to earn his dad’s approval. However, Hassan is assaulted by a group of bullies and Amir doesn’t do anything to help. the guilt of not stepping in stays with him for the rest of his life. The soviet nation then invades, and forces Amir and his father to run to the U.S. , where they begin to live a completely new life in San Francisco. Amir grows up, becomes a writer and marries a woman called Soraya, but the guilt stays with him.
The quote below is a lengthened version of a quote from the book.
I had one chance to make up for my failure. I could choose to do what was right and make things right between me and hassan. But i didn’t. I had no idea what was going to happen after that moment, but i already had made my choice. I had chosen to keep my distance, to keep my secret, and doing so, I would break something inside me forever, I would do anything to make up for it. pg 111
This quote shows the thoughts of Amir, and his internal battle with guilt after the event involving Hassan. Amir has finally realized the full potential of what he has done and the impact it has had on Hassan and others.