23/06/2025
In a quiet neighborhood in Lagos, lived Tosyn—a woman known for her graceful smile and calm presence. To her neighbors, she was the picture of a peaceful wife: always cheerful, her home always in order, her children well-mannered, her husband well-fed. But few knew the weight she carried in silence.
Each morning, Tosyn woke before the sun, her feet cold against the tiled floor. She would pray for strength—strength to endure the shouting that sometimes came at night, strength to hide her tears from her children, and strength to keep loving a man who barely saw her anymore.
Adekunle her husband, had once been sweet. But over the years, life hardened him. Stress became anger, and anger found its way into his words. He didn’t hit her—but the wounds of his insults stayed longer than bruises ever could. Tosyn never told anyone. “Marriage is for better or worse,” her mother had once said. So, she stayed.
At night, when Adekunle slept, she would sit by the window, her hands clasped tightly around her own. The silence in the house felt heavy, but it was better than fighting. She convinced herself that peace—any peace—was better than none.
She cooked his meals even when he didn’t say thank you. She smiled in public so no one would ask questions. She forgave him again and again—not because he said sorry, but because she didn’t want her children to grow up in a broken home.
Sometimes she wanted to scream. To walk away. To choose herself. But then she'd see her children sleeping, peaceful and unbothered, and she'd whisper, “Just one more day, Tosyn. Just one more day of peace.”
No one saw her cry into her pillow.
No one heard her heart break when Adekunle called her useless.
No one knew that Tosyn, the smiling wife, was slowly dying inside—choosing silence, sacrifice, and survival all in the name of peace.
And yet, every day, she rose.
Because women like Tosyn don’t always leave.
Sometimes, they stay—not because they are weak, but because they believe that holding the house together, even with bleeding hands, is a kind of love.
Even if it means no one ever notices the cracks.