Insight of a Kenyan Girl

The flight back home was a blur. The quiet hum of the plane, the sterile smell of the cabin, and the soft murmur of passengers around me. It all felt like I was drifting through a dream I wasn’t sure I wanted to wake up from. Every time my thoughts wandered to Patty, it was like I was opening a book I wasn’t ready to read. There was so much unspoken between us, so many things I didn’t understand yet, but for the first time, I knew I had to let go.

I had no choice.

The moment I landed, the rush of familiar air and the bustle of the airport pulled me back to reality. My feet were on solid ground again, but my mind was still somewhere far away, in a city I didn’t belong in, with a man I didn’t fully know.

I dragged my suitcase through the terminal, each step pulling me further from everything that had happened in the past few days. I felt the weight of every decision, of every moment that had led me here. Patty’s words echoed in my head. “You’re not just some stranger.”

But that’s exactly how I had to treat him. Because what did I really know about him? What was I even supposed to believe?

As I exited the airport, I scrolled through my phone, looking for some kind of distraction, some form of normalcy. My mind was too tangled with thoughts of Patty and his strange intensity to focus on anything else.

It wasn’t until I reached home, alone in the quiet of my room, that the emptiness really hit me. I was back where I started, but everything felt different now. I hadn’t expected to feel this… disconnected. I was supposed to be relieved, to feel the weight of my decisions lift, but instead, I felt more adrift than ever.

Then my phone buzzed.

Patty.

I stared at the screen for a moment, my heart skipping. I hadn’t been sure if he would reach out or not. I wasn’t sure if I even wanted him to. But there it was, his name on the screen.

I opened the message.

Patty:
“Hope you made it back okay. I won’t ask you to come back, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here. I meant what I said. You’re not alone, Minnie. You don’t have to go through this alone.”

The words hit me harder than I expected. I felt the weight of them press down on me, even though he wasn’t physically there.

I stared at the message for a long time, debating whether to respond. Part of me wanted to tell him everything, to explain why I had to leave, to let him know I wasn’t running from him. But I couldn’t. Not yet. Not when everything felt too uncertain.

Minnie:
“I’m back. I’ll be okay, really. Thanks for everything, Patty.”

It wasn’t a lie. I would be okay. I had to be. But as I hit send, I couldn’t help but wonder if this would be the last time I’d hear from him. If it was truly over, and I had made the right choice.

Seconds later, my phone buzzed again.

Patty:
“You don’t have to say goodbye. Just say I’ll see you again.”

I smiled softly, but there was something in his words that made the room feel smaller, tighter. The future, though unclear, still felt like it could hold something.

I didn’t reply this time. I let his message hang in the air, a promise or maybe just a wish.

And for the first time since I’d left, I felt the faintest thread of hope pull through the darkened corners of my heart.