30/11/2025
Part_2️⃣9️⃣
“The Man Who Never Looked Back”
It had been over twenty years since Chinedu last saw his father.
He used to imagine the reunion — maybe at a burial, maybe by accident on a dusty road — but never like this.
The man appeared one afternoon, limping slightly, a cane in his hand, grey streaking his beard.
He stopped right outside the shop, staring at the signboard that read “C. O. Okafor & Co — Kerosene & General Goods.”
Chinedu froze.
That name — Okafor — the same one his father once swore he’d never allow on his disgrace of a son’s business.
Amara sensed it before she even turned.
She saw the old man, his eyes sharp but tired, watching them in silence.
“Papa,” Chinedu said quietly, stepping out from behind the counter.
The man’s lips pressed together.
“So, it’s true. You’re still here.”
The market seemed to hush, sensing a story long buried clawing its way back.
“I heard you started a business,” his father continued.
“Thought maybe you’d finally learned how to live without shame.”
Chinedu’s throat tightened.
“I didn’t build this to prove anything, Papa. I built it to breathe.”
The old man looked at him — really looked, maybe for the first time.
The scars, the calm eyes, the quiet dignity that no longer flinched.
Then his gaze shifted to Amara.
“And this one? The girl you’ve trapped with pity?”
Amara stepped forward before Chinedu could speak.
“Sir, pity doesn’t build shops.
It doesn’t paint walls. It doesn’t survive gossip.
Love does.”
Silence.
Even the flies seemed to stop buzzing.
The old man’s jaw tightened, but something flickered behind his eyes — guilt, maybe regret, maybe both.
He turned to leave but paused at the edge of the road.
Without looking back, he said, “You look like your mother when you stand that way.”
It wasn’t an apology.
But for Chinedu, it was a crack in the wall — small, uneven, but real.
When he returned inside, Amara was waiting.
“You okay?”
He nodded slowly.
“For the first time… yes.
I didn’t break.”
She smiled.
“That’s because fire already did its worst.
What’s left now is gold.”
And outside, the old man walked away — his son’s laughter following him down the dusty street, haunting, healing, and full of light.
To be continued......
゚viralシ