The Lonely End of A Good Man

He started early. Graduated top of his class. Earned a PhD before his peers even finished their Masters.
A man of discipline, no smoke, no drink, no scandals.
He chose one woman, married his best friend, and stayed faithful.
He raised four brilliant children, sent them all abroad on merit.
Gave them everything he never had. They now live good lives in foreign lands, married, thriving, far away.
He is now over seventy.
A professor.
A man respected in academic circles but forgotten in the quiet corners of his own home.
Today he is not a widower, but he stands in his kitchen, making eba all by himself.
His wife, the woman he built everything with, left for a routine visit to help their daughter with childbirth. That was three years ago.
She never came back.
Now she belongs to the children.
She video call him on birthdays and sends love in group chats.
But her heart no longer lives here.
He has become a bachelor again by ABANDONMENT, not by choice.
This is the lonely end of a good man.
A man who did everything right.
Who never cheated.
Who never strayed.
Who lived by the book.
Who believed love and duty were enough.
And yet, here he is.
Alone.
Heartbroken.
Still in love with a woman who forgot to come home.
And this is not just his story. This is the silent fate of many good men.
Now the hard questions must be asked.
If he was a polygamist, would one wife have stayed?
If he mingled with friends, built strong social networks, joined the staff club, would the silence be less deafening?
If he had a side chick, someone who also cared, would he feel less invisible now?
If he lived a little less for others and a little more for himself, would this end still look the same?
This is not a call to abandon virtue but a call to reexamine balance.
Because loyalty is beautiful, but loneliness is brutal.
And love, when it is not mutual in old age, becomes a slow heartbreak no medicine can cure.
It is important that men build good social circles while building their lives.
Do not live in isolation just to please a woman.
Yes, she may be faithful to you in sex, but will she be faithful in old age?
For me, the true companionship in marriage is not found in the days when you have the strength to tickle her fancy, but in the evenings when you are both old, sitting together on the balcony, sharing silence that still feels like peace.
That, to me, is the entire idea of marriage.
Prayers For Men
May we not labour in vain.
May the hearts of good men never grow bitter from being forgotten.
May those who give love, loyalty, and strength never end up alone in silence.
May your sacrifices be seen, your pain understood, and your presence valued.
May you build bonds that endure, even when the children leave.
May you find companionship, peace, and joy in the later chapters of life.
May your story not end in loneliness but in love returned.
Amen.