Cedar Telegram Vol. I, issue 3

IN ANOTHER LIFE Telegram Issue III

Message From Publications Dear Cedar Knights, The Publications Society is excited to present to you the third edition of the Telegram this academic year.

Published twice a month, it carries the many diverse voices of our student body, ranging from poetry to artwork, and much more.

The theme of this edition, In Another Life, means much to me because it is where often the "what if" that one thinks about is closest. It explores alternate realities wherein different decisions, timelines, or circumstances could have led to completely new lives. Essays, fiction, and thought-provoking articles allow contributors to capture the essence of second chances and parallel worlds.

Here's to the stories that spark your imagination and make you think about roads less traveled yet take pleasure in the paths we walk today. Enjoy the journey and the creativity written within these pages!

Taha Ali Editor-in-Chief

Under Another Sky Perhaps in another life.

Yes, perhaps.

I like to think we'll have another chance.

How it hurts to know I let it once go, But perhaps in another life, Maybe once when you see me go.

Perhaps in another life, I'll look at the sunrise without bloodshot eyes.

It's nice isn't it, To imagine us in another life.

Maybe in another life, Our paths will fold like origami.

Perhaps then I'll tell you, All my pretty lies like you.

Maybe in another life, We’ll dance beneath a moonlit sky, My words are whispered soft and slow, And tears are only joy’s goodbye.

Perhaps in another life, We’ll walk where shadows never fall, Where every step is light and free, And love is our eternal call.

Maybe in another life, Our dreams will find a timeless place, Where we can live the moments missed, And find each other’s warm embrace.

Perhaps in another life, I'll look at the sunrise without bloodshot eyes.

Maybe in another life.

~ Ramsha Ghofran

Ifs And Wishes ~ Taha Ali In another life, perhaps I'd find A path where choices were divine Where every step led to greatness too And the love of my life remained true Maybe in that world, I'd be the best The hero of someone's every quest Their eyes would shine with love and light Reflecting the beauty in my sight In another life, regrets would fade And every decision would be made With courage, wisdom, and gentle care No what-ifs to haunt, no tears to share The one who left would still be mine Their hand in mine, heart entwined No sorrow, no goodbye, no pain Just forever's promise, love's refrain Perhaps in that life, I'd soar A champion of dreams, and so much more Leaving fear, doubt, and shame behind Embracing destiny, aligned But here I stand, in this life's stream A tapestry woven, some threads serene Others frayed, with mistakes and scars Yet still I dream, of who I could be, in another life's stars.

Beyond the Horizon ~ Muhammad Mehdi A breeze combing through foreign terrain it has never seen, Where pain is unheard of, and love brighter than a sunbeam.

A land where laughter prevails across the seven seas, Where blood is treasured and not spilled as you please.

In another life, where the evening sky hums a softer tune, Countries bow down to the wall of peace, war a lost rune.

In this place, time is a canvas, painted with hues of grace, Each moment a melody, with smiles shining on every face.

In this life, the dawn brushes the earth with care, And every dream we imagined blooms in the air.

Here, you can be all what you wished to be, A world breathing unchained, happy and free.

The Untravelled Fate In another life, the winds were kind, Their breath, a caress upon my cheek.

I saw the path where roses bloomed, Where dreams unfold like petals closed, But fate, a wolf, crept up behind, And stole the stars out of the seas.

Desolate, here I crawl where rivers run Through shadows cast by a relentless sun.

A door I might have walked right through, Now stands with rust upon its latch.

The stars I once dreamed to gather grew, But dimmed beyond my hands to catch.

But now they glare, so far, so cold, Leaving me here buried in my mess.

So I walk in blind disguise, Half-broken wings, no strength for flight.

Yet darker still, there lurks a fate, Where screams of sorrow twist the air.

Leaving every breath choked with shame, A place where love dissolves in endless hate, And I am nothing, stripped of name.

Perhaps this life, this empty grey, this bitter stillness Is mercy from the darkest tide.

Not bright enough to steal away, Nor black enough to kill inside.

But enough to feel like a puppet in a half-formed dream, A dream where night and day both slip away.

~ Schanzay Sohail

Between Paper and Heart In another life, I'd be paper.

~Alifya Imran

I'd be the writer's heart, And the poet's muse.

I'd be the artist's canvas, With nothing left to lose.

I'd be unscarred by the weights of ink, unlike a human heartfrayed and worn.

With secrets whispered and unfulfilled dreams tattooed onto my phantom skin, I'd sink into leather covers, And let the stories begin.

I'd be the dawn of dreams and the dusk of tragedies.

I'd breathe unwritten stories, Of war and defeat, and untouched legacies.

Burnt or tattered; I'd still carry it all with meTales of love and loss, From cities far and countries across.

I'd feel no anger or agony, And would be free from remorse.

There'd be no fear, There'd be no rules enforced.

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But I wonder, Would it be better To not feel at allTo be something to everyone?

Yet to myself, just small?

In quiet corners of the mind, In echoes of what could have been, In shadows cast by what I yearn, I find the lives I could have saved.

A canvas rich with shades untrue, Each stroke I wish I never knew, I hear the call of distant lands, I taste the thrills of roads unmanned.

Dreams I shelved ~ Ismail Misbah

I see the faces I might have known, In crowded streets where I’ve not roamed, Whispers of time, soft yet loud, Of what could be.

As I ponder over what’s unseen, I carve my joy, leave my mark, For every wish that lingers still, Is part of me, a spark, a thrill.

A wanderer learning to cope, When in fleeting moments dreams awaken, I tend to hope, banishing gloom, And cherish the notion of an alternate life.

Yet here I stand in life’s embrace, With all its flaws, its tender grace, Adopting fate with open hands, Accepting life, both vast and planned.

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For every path that fades from sight, Ignites my spirit, fuels my light, For in this life, rich and true, I cherish all I chose to do.

Thinking of Her

~ Taha Ali

The sky today is the kind of grey that holds every shade of loss, heavy with things unsaid. I stand here, wrapped in silence, knowing that in this life, we were never meant to be.

I think of you often—how we were like two stars burning in different galaxies, distant and unreachable.

We brushed past each other, close enough to feel the warmth but never enough to truly collide. There was always something, wasn’t there? Some invisible line keeping us apart, no matter how desperately we reached for each other. I realize now that it was not this world that could ever hold us together.

Maybe we were never meant to walk this earth side by side. Maybe the fates decided that our love would be too heavy for this fragile place. Maybe we were meant to be a quiet whisper in the vast noise of this world, something unfinished and left to linger between breaths.

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But maybe, just maybe, in another time, another life— there’s a version of us that’s whole. A version where we meet beneath kinder skies, where the weight of the

world doesn’t press so cruelly on your shoulders, where I can hold your hand and feel you truly beside me, not lost to the pain that you couldn’t bear. In that world, we’ll find each other. We’ll write our story differently, not in fleeting moments and shattered dreams, but in a love that finally gets to stay. We’ll be the stars that finally collide, not to destroy, but to light up everything around us.

Until then, in this life, I will hold you close in the only way I can—in memory, in the silent corners of my heart. And I’ll look to the sky, knowing somewhere, somewhen, you’re waiting for me.

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Dreams

~ Maryam

Are dreams meant to come true?

Yes, says my heart.

No, my mind roars.

My soul asks both of them again, Are dreams meant to come true?

Yes, I deserve it, My heart whines.

It's not that easy, My mind shouts.

Are my dreams meant to come true?

Yes, we will shatter if they don't, My heart cries.

No, sometimes things don't go as planned, My mind asserts.

My heart and my mind Both quarrel As I sip my tea, Staring at the younger version Of myself Playing without a care In my childhood garden.

Infinite Dreams, One Life ~Syed Khizar Bin Rafay Maybe I would have been someone else, If I hadn't been confined, To this one life that I have been assigned.

If I had another life I'd live it a lot differently; I'd be more curious, and I'd be more observant, I'd be more empathetic and perhaps then I'll finally be content If I had another life, I'd be running through the streets, I'd be laughing, jumping and smiling on repeat.

In another life, I’d finally ask her out, I’d travel the world and visit all those places That I spent years dreaming about.

Now that I think about it, one life isn’t enough To live life fully in this vast, limitless world.

But let us make do with what we’ve got, Let us enjoy the little time we have, And cherish each moment before it’s gone.

A Different Path ~ Zaina Faisil In another life, I chose a different path I finally spoke the words which never escaped my heart Every dream I left behind Blossomed true in that other life Let this life of mine be in suffering In another life, would fate bring me kinder offerings Let the wheel of fate itself decide Whether this life of mine is to thrive As I stand by the Lethe’s shore The river calls me once more A cup of amnesic, sweet and deep Where past regrets and sorrows sleep Tyche, the goddess of shifting fate With hands that guide the life we navigate If you truly control all my destiny Then let this life of mine be in serenity

Without You~ Sibra Alam

I go back to the places we used to go to, and your laughter rings in my ears, leaving me drenched in the pain of your absence, the thorns in my heart sink deeper with every passing day that you do not return. with every passing day that the space besides me remain entry, with every passing day that the doorway does not fill with your beautiful face, with every passing day that the room does not brighten up because of you.

I wish the sun that shines so high would make my pain melt away.

I wish this moon that brightens up the dark sky would illuminate my soul instead. to the world, I may smile everyday but they don't know that my heart weeps for you. to the world, I may breathe everyday but they don't know that my lungs expired with you to the world, I may live everyday but what they don't know is i stopped breathing the day you left me, so maybe in another universe, I'll be able to breathe again without feeling this guilt.

We Shall Meet In Another Life ~ Kamran Ali In another life, we shall meet under a shelter, we shall be together. You left too early. However, we shall be together in another life forever. Autumn is coming, it's where it all began, you left like the dry leaves leave the trees.

You left snowy winters for me, the winters that crushed my heart into pieces, but once again you shall come back, like a bonfire on a snowy night, in another life, in another life.

A Different Choice

~ Muhammad Ismail Asif

I guess you can never stop imagining.

Limitless possibilities in such limited personalities. Always so aware of all that did happen but none of what could’ve been. Those small instances and those small choices seem to make you a lot more than ever did you imagine. Those experiences that make you so different from what you might’ve been. So many people and so many wonders that seem to get away from the change they could’ve made to you. It’s all those that you were willing to listen to when there were so many choices you could’ve made. It’s all those different reactions to all that you caused yourself. Maybe it all could’ve been different if you just took the other choice. In another life.

In Another Life ~ Amna Muhammad Amir In another life I would make different mistakes, celebrate various other victories. I would spend each day as if it were my last day on earth.

In another life, I would love fiercely with no expectations of receiving any in return. I would be the sunshine in someone's life, put a smile to every crying face. Before leaving a room, I would make sure the noise of laughter can be heard miles away.

In another life, I would forgive all the people who were the reason for my tears. Whoever made my heart bleed but never let it die. Who used me like a toy meant to throw away after a while.

In another life, I would chase the rain, choose the water to soak me every time so that I could cry my heart out and no one would see my tears. I would dance in the rain and sing my favourite songs with my favourite people.

In another life, I would serve humanity in the best way possible. Without a moment's hesitation, I would stand with the truth and never bow down to one who only speaks lies.

I would cure every disease to ever exist and fill hearts with hope. I would convert tears of sorrow to tears of happiness and finally live to experience what it feels like to help the needy.

In another life, I would make my parents proud.

Show them with my actions that they brought me up too well. I would buy them a house in the mountains with my own money and see the pride in their eyes. I would prove to them that their efforts were worth it.

That they're the perfect imperfect parents I could have ever asked for.

In another life, I would become poor. To live in their little homes and still remain the happiest. To work day and night to have a small meal. To educate those poor kids and run around in random streets with them. To celebrate things we consider too small but are the real reason for our happiness.

In another life, I would find peace in every broken piece of me.

What If we? ~ Rabab Burhanuddin What if? A question that echoes in the deepest corners of our minds, reverberating like a haunting melody, gnawing at our consciousness. What if we chased sunsets instead of succumbing to the relentless demands of society? What if we wandered barefoot through lush grass, allowing the earth to cradle our souls instead of crushing our dreams beneath the weight of expectation?

What if we could cast aside the shackles of pressure and fear, embracing the freedom to pursue what truly ignites our spirits? In that moment, our souls would soar like birds at dawn, awakening to the promise of a new day, free to wander and explore. We could find joy in the journey, revelling in each step rather than adhering to a path laid out for us by others.

Why don’t we turn to our whispers, our guiding lights? Instead, we cradle our dreams, holding them captive like fragile blossoms, fearing that nurturing them might expose their delicate petals to the harsh winds of reality. We are our own worst enemies, dreaming boldly yet allowing the thickness of our minds to crush our hopes.

We let the echoes of past failures reverberate in our thoughts, transforming them into shadows that loom over today’s successes. We become prisoners of our own narratives, repeating the same stories until they shape our very identities.

We yearn for another life—one where each sunrise acts as a glimmer of hope, lighting the way to new beginnings.

What if we finally stepped into the Sun, shedding the shadows of guilt and insecurity that cling to us? What if we boldly walked into the unknown, fueled by the belief that we are worthy of all that we desire? Yet, as we wish for another life, we often neglect the one unfolding right before our eyes.

We simply cannot sit and stare at our wounds, remembering the moments that cut us, while dreaming of bleeding for the dreams we sacrificed. Instead, let us honour our scars as reminders of our resilience, and take a step— just one small step—toward the life we truly crave.

September Playlist Only a player, nothing more

Florist Parallels

Big Thief Waiting Room

Phoebe Bridgers Impossible

Lyla Foy

Days of Candy

Beach House Visions of Gideon

Sufjan Stevens Because Dreaming Costs Money

Mitski

Try Again Tomorrow

Liana Flores

Creative Minds

Image by: Pratik Harani

Image by: Arif

Book Review ~Muhammad Mehdi Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay is a riveting exploration of life's crude tapestry, where one wrong decision can forever alter the course of fate. The novel plunges into the fragile fabric of a man’s reality and life, shattered when his wife mysteriously vanishes. Secrets that were withheld and emotions that were left unattended - all led to a lovely family being destroyed. In another life, could everything have been different? Barclay masterfully intertwines suspense and raw human emotion, capturing the vulnerability of love and trust. With intricate twists and relatable despair, this book resonates deeply with anyone who’s ever wondered how life could have unfolded differently, had one crucial moment played out another way. A powerful, thought-provoking read.

Mashed Potatoes Recipe Ingredients This classic recipe starts with 7 simple ingredients: Potatoes, of course! 3 pounds yields enough for about 8 people. Double the recipe if you're serving more!

Garlic – For savory depth of flavor.

Unsalted butter – For richness and buttery flavor.

Milk – It smooths the starchy potatoes into an incredibly creamy mash.

Use whole milk for the creamiest results.

Sour cream – Technically, this ingredient is optional. If you skip it, the recipe will still come out great. But for the best mashed potatoes, I highly recommend folding it in! It makes the taters extra-creamy and gives them a tangy taste.

And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!

Directions: 1. *Peel and chop* the potatoes into consistent chunks.

2. *Boil* the potatoes and garlic in salted water until fork-tender.

3. *Drain* the potatoes and return them to the pot.

4. *Mash* the potatoes partially, then add milk, butter, salt, and pepper.

5. *Continue mashing* to your desired consistency, and stir in sour cream if desired.

6. *Season* to taste with additional butter, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Enjoy!

k n y a o h u T

For Reading Telegram Issue III Team: Senior Graphic Designers: Hamna Siddiqui, Hamnah Iftikhar, Amnah Khan Editor-in-Chief: Taha Ali Designers: Ramsha Ghofran Taha Ali Editors: Ramsha Ghofran Muhammad Mehdi