Hey Mwas. 💛

Out of every possible name — you saved me as Papa. Not Andrew, not anything normal. Papa. I pretended to be annoyed. I really wasn't.

You said 'I'm over the moon' when Arsenal lifted the title. I woke up at 3am to confirm the result. We were both happy — for completely different reasons.

I told you about planting 2000 eucalyptus trees on the family land — worth 3500 each in 10 years. You said 'ebu waconvince' like you genuinely believed it would work. That meant more than you know.

Copper plus oxygen. Galvanization. Zinc as a catalyst. I said one thing, you said another, neither of us backed down. Honestly the most entertaining chemistry lesson either of us ever attended.

You worked in the shamba for 15 hours. I lasted 2 hours and complained the whole time. We both agreed you're stronger. This was never disputed again.

I offered to bring you fish from Kisumu when I went home. You asked if I had the fare. I said yes. You told me to send money for it. I said 'after your money'. We both knew what that was about 😂.

You asked 'What's a GitHub???' and I explained it as the Facebook of engineers. You were satisfied. I consider that one of my best explanations to date.

We remembered primary school — reciting formulas out loud like we were in training camp. Teacher Chris. The 20 bob mahamri at lunch that left you full until the next morning. SST with Madam Teresa that nobody understood.

Mum sent me past someone's compound. Two dogs came after me. I stood still, holding my phone, genuinely expecting the worst. They walked away. I did not run. I could have trended the whole neighbourhood 😂.

I hosted someone for a month. One night I slept at a friend's place. I came back — my laptop and phone were gone. You listened to that whole story without judging once. That matters.

'I love you so much ❤' at 23:35. 'ILY' back. Then you told me to go to sleep. Mwas — ILY is still ILY. Three letters, but I understood every one of them.

'I love food.' 'What if you remove food?' '...money.' We found out we had different tastes — you loved milk, I didn't drink it. We said 'we different, same taste' and neither of us knew exactly what it meant but it felt right.

Airtel. Safaricom. Okoa bundles. The iPhone that kept crashing. The Samsung with the cracked screen that somehow still worked. Data ran out at the worst possible moments — but we always found a way back online.

'Hi Honey Am Home 😄' — I came back after a year away. You welcomed me. I felt like I was on the moon. You told me to stay warm. It was one of the simplest, best days.

You told me you and your sisters had invested in sugarcane. I said it was a great idea. For once, someone else in the conversation had a real business brain too. I liked that.

'Walae nakuanga na vibe kwa chats zako lkn si kwa wengine.' — You said that without being asked. Mwas, I haven't forgotten that. I don't think I will.

You never pretended. When you had a boyfriend you said so. When you didn't know something you said so. When you disagreed you said so. Always honest, always real.

You understood my jokes faster than most people. You said it yourself — 'kwani huwa narada jokes zako zote.' The chemistry debate alone was proof your sense of humour was something else.

You never complained about hard work. While I was sitting alone in a matatu for 14 passengers, you were already in a shamba. You were quietly stronger than you ever showed.

'You smart bnaa' — I said that a lot. You picked things up fast, engaged properly, argued well. I meant it every single time.

'Unakuwanga na positive mindset' — I told you that early on. 'Hakuna kugive up' — you said that yourself about the 10-chances idea. You lived it.

When you were in a conversation, you were actually in it. Not half-reading, not distracted. Engaged. That kind of presence is rarer than most people realize.