Read Time:2 Minute, 7 Second
There are no more sounds now. The streets have hushed their voices. The chaos has settled, and in its place, silence — soft, gentle, like a blanket over the heart. This is where peace begins. Not in the absence of the storm, but in the calm that follows, in the stillness that lingers when all has been said, all has been fought.
For those who were taken, we offer no more cries. No more tears. They deserve something deeper. They deserve the quiet peace that comes after the hardest battles. They are beyond pain now, beyond fear. They rest where no harm can reach them, in a place where the light never dims, where the heart no longer aches.
And for us, who remain — those who watched, those who fought, those who hoped — we, too, deserve peace. We have carried the weight of their names on our tongues, in our hearts, and it has been heavy. But now, let us lay that weight down, not in forgetting, but in honoring. Honoring their fight by finding peace within ourselves. By believing that even after the fiercest storms, the sky clears. It always does.
Peace is what we seek, and peace is what they would want for us. Not a peace that comes from giving up, but a peace that comes from knowing we did not stand in vain. That the light they lit in us burns quietly now, but it burns still.
For all of us — those who walked in the fire and those who watched it — we ask for peace. For the wounds to heal, for the minds to rest, for the hearts to soften once more. It has been long, this journey. We have seen too much. But here, now, we find a place to breathe. To be still. To let the world turn slowly, without rush, without noise.
Peace for the heroes, for those who left too soon. Peace for us, who carry their legacy.Peace for all, so that the scars we bear may fade, leaving only the strength we've gained.
In the quiet, peace. Not just for a moment, but for always.
And so we rest, together.
Ajayi Taiwo Paul is a Nigerian writer and editor, and the creative mind behind the Evergreen Tribute Series, a project dedicated to honouring lives lost during the EndSARS protest. His work explores themes of faith, resilience, and African identity, blending poetic prose with non-linear storytelling. He is deeply passionate about crafting emotionally resonant pieces that merge the spiritual with the everyday.
