The Saturday morning sun cast a warm glow over the Adomako compound, already at a decent strength at 6:30. Hector stood on the small lawn nearby, dressed in a simple tracksuit, looking ready for his weekly prayer walk: an activity he usually liked to complete within half an hour before returning to make breakfast with his wife. The past two mornings had brought some showers with them, so this sunny morning was one to take advantage of.

As he prepared, however, at the corner of his eye, he noticed Izar step out of the boy’s quarters, his face a mix of resolve and unease as he looked in his direction. “Uh, good morning, Mr. Hector,” he called, hands jammed in his pockets as he approached him slowly.

Hector turned to him fully, a warm smile lighting his face. “Good morning, Izar. Did you have a good rest? Sleep okay?”

Izar nodded slowly.

Hector then tilted his head, curiosity in his eyes. “What’s on your mind, Izar? You thinking about your next step?”

Izar nodded, glancing around the compound before locking eyes with Hector. “Yeah, but that’s not what I was looking to talk about. I wanted to talk about something I noticed. Can we step inside?”

Assuming it was about Izar’s future, Hector nodded, then gestured to the boy’s quarters, and they slipped back into the dim room, with Izar sitting on the bed while Hector took a seat on the chair nearby.

The big man leaned towards Izar, his face full of expectation. “Okay, Izar. Talk to me. What is it?”

Izar shifted, then squared his shoulders, his voice firm. “Uhh… Mr. Hector, I really appreciate all that you and your wife have done for me, no doubt about that. But… there’s something I’ve noticed in the few days I’ve been here, and I just felt… I just felt I need to speak about it. Expeditiously.”

Hector’s brow furrowed. “What is it, Izar?”

Izar looked down for a moment.

All morning, he had geared himself up to really sock it to the big man about his pathetic beta values. Now, he felt slightly uneasy about actually doing the needful. This gnawing feeling that Hector wouldn’t appreciate a lecture on manhood ate at him.

He’s not going to like that… he won’t like that…

Nah, fuck it, he needs this! He can’t continue being a wassie!

Izar raised his head and stared Hector squarely in the eye. “Sir, with all due respect, I’ve noticed some simp behavior from you, and I’m not impressed at all. You’re better than that.”

Hector’s brow knitted into a frown, bemusement replacing the concern in his eyes. “Simp behavior? Uh, you need to explain yourself, Izar. What exactly are you talking about?”

Izar sighed, then crossed his arms, his tone sharpening. “I’ve been seeing how you behave around your wife, and I’m sorry, but, it’s giving ‘weak man vibes’. A few days ago, you joined her in the kitchen to do chores. After that, I heard you asking for her opinion on things concerning your home. And yesterday…. apologizing to her, holding her hands, practically begging her to forgive you. Yeah, I’m sorry, but real men don’t do that. None of that. The men that I learned from don’t do none of that shi… sorry, I mean, none of that stuff.

“They taught me that as a man, you must always let your female know who’s in charge, and that your authority is never to be questioned. Never. They taught me who has the power: it’s men. Not women. Forget all that feminism madness; this world would be nothing without men. And females need to know their place at all times. So seeing you kowtow to her by giving her that much power over you… it-it disappoints me. You’re a big guy, Mr. Hector, strong, in charge. You’re a typical man’s man. You shouldn’t be bowing to a woman, no matter what. That’s weakness of the highest order, and it’s not how a man carries himself. I’m sorry, but, I had to tell you the truth.”

Done with his diatribe, Izar leaned back, satisfied with himself.

Hector simply sat there, face void of expression as he studied Izar for a long moment, the silence between them stretching like a taut wire.

Then he took a breath. Shook his head.

And chuckled.

“You know, young man,” he started slowly, “it takes a lot of courage to gather the guts to tell me all this garbage you spewed, considering you’re sitting here, under my roof, eating our food and sleeping in our quarters. But hey, I get it. You’ve been through a lot, and I can’t blame you for being shaped by the world you grew up in.”

He then rose to his feet. “But what you just said about alleged real manhood and all? That’s not strength. That’s foolishness dressed up in pride.”

Izar blinked, taken aback by that response.

Hector went on. “You’re here quoting these so-called ‘alpha males’ like they’re some prophets. When in reality, they’re just a bunch of weak men who strut around pretending that control equals respect. Sorry, young man, but I don’t take my cues from those confused, misguided men and their rubbish. My role model is Jesus Christ. You know who He is? He’s the Man who had all authority in heaven and earth, and yet… He knelt to wash the feet of his disciples. He didn’t scream dominance, even though He had, and has it all. He showed humility. He served. And he treated women with dignity, not with contempt.”

Izar shifted slightly, folding his arms tighter.

“You know the first person Jesus revealed himself to as the Messiah?” Hector continued, voice firm. “A Samaritan woman. A woman society discarded twice over, for her gender and her past. Your so-called ‘real men’ would have treated her as a total persona non grata. But Jesus? Nope, He didn’t shun her, or belittle her. He spoke to her with respect, gave her value, and trusted her with the news that would change the world.”

Izar looked away, jaw clenched.

“And when He rose from the dead?” Hector pressed on. “He didn’t appear first to Peter, or to John. He appeared to Mary Magdalene. A woman. He gave her the honor of being the first witness. Oh, and here’s an even better one. You know about the woman who was caught engaging in adultery who the Pharisees wanted to stone to death? Yeah, your beloved alpha males would have stoned her with the harshest of condemnations, and gone back to sleeping with different women, as if that’s not the same sin. Jesus didn’t do that. While He never condoned her sin, he didn’t condemn her, either. He didn’t make her feel like a complete nothing. He acknowledged her as a human being and told her not to sin any more. That is how a real man behaves!”

Izar could barely stare Hector in the face at this point. He should have known a response like this would be on the cards.

“I’m not a simp, Izar,” Hector stated firmly, eyes locked on his. “I’m a man who loves his wife, who honors her, and who doesn’t see submission as an opportunity to treat her like dirt. Because she isn’t. She is the one I vowed before God and man to love, protect and care for till my dying day, and everything I do is to reflect that vow. My interest isn’t in appearing powerful to other men and all that unnecessary jazz, it’s in loving my wife the way I’m expected to love her. And that includes laying my life down for her.

“You think asking her opinion makes me less of a man? No, it makes me wise. Because she sees things I don’t. You think helping her with chores is beneath me? No, it’s the least I can do. Jesus was the leader, yet He washed their feet. So helping her in the kitchen or anywhere around the house is never beneath me. You think apologizing to her means I’ve lost power? No, it means I have enough power to confront my own faults and make amends where necessary. That’s what true strength is. Not this madness you’re selling to me about condescending dominance and stoicism!

“I’m sorry, young man, but you’ve learned nothing but a coward’s creed. These so-called ‘real men’ have poisoned your mind with arrogance and idiocy, and it’s a sad sight. There’s nothing admirable about treating women like objects who exist only for your pleasure. Real strength in manhood isn’t proven by putting women in their place, but by rising to protect, honour, and love them as God intended – not as masters, but as men after His own heart.”

Izar’s bravado crumbled, his mouth agape, no words coming as his cheeks burned with embarrassment. He stared at the floor, silenced by the force of Hector’s rebuke.

Hector shook his head, his face etched with disapproval as he stared down at him.

“I don’t know if it’s your stepfather who drummed all this nonsense into your head, but whoever did, they taught you wrong, Izar. And if it is him, just remember that this is the same man abusing you so badly, you’re here because you’re running away from him. That should tell you how toxic and destructive this crap mindset is. It’s nothing to uphold; it only destroys. And by the way, let me ask you a question: these stupid alpha males also tell you showing emotions is a sign of weakness, don’t they? Why did you show up on the road in a mess, all teary and begging for mercy? Huh? Isn’t that a betrayal of their supposed values of strength?”

Izar could not utter a word, his head still bowed down. Hector shook his head once again. He knew the boy had no sensible justification; he was totally floored.

“Well, I pray, one day, you’ll see the truth and realize all these so-called heroes of yours are frauds. Maybe then, you’ll be able to unlearn all that poison. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m on my way to my prayer walk.”

Without another word, he turned and strode out into the morning light, leaving Izar frozen in the quiet room as he prepared to begin his prayer walk.

Thank you, Hector! That’s all there is to it, honestly…