THE SOFT MAN

til a chance meeting at a supermarket rekindled their connection. When Emeka finally vis

push. He j

Emeka bega

allenges. But the way Yomi nodded and never interrupted created a crac

think I'm no

ence of Ijeoma's punishment, but a warm, open space. Yomi

ad become second nature. Who else could he lean on? His father? Impossi

ice cracked. "At night, I just... stare at the

. "What does being

for him. It meant enduring. It meant not crying. It meant putting others first. It

be... maybe not this. Maybe not dyi

weren't loud, but they were honest. They washed away a layer of pr

o. Yomi explained trauma, emotional abuse, and generational silence.

h Emeka for days: "Softness is not the absence of streng

at the ceiling either. He wrote in a journal. He wrote pages.