Insight of a Kenyan Girl

The days that followed felt like the quiet settling of dust after a storm. Life back home was normal—too normal, in fact. I slipped back into the routine I’d left behind, going through the motions as if nothing had shifted. But something had. I couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but I wasn’t the same. Not anymore.

I had moments where I’d find myself staring at my phone, fingers hovering over the screen, as if waiting for a message from Patty. But no new texts came. It was like he had become a ghost in my life—real, but out of reach.

I couldn’t help but wonder if it had all been a dream. The music club, the late-night talks, the way his words made my chest tighten. It all felt surreal now.

But then, in the midst of the ordinary, the messages from Patty still haunted me. “You don’t have to say goodbye. Just say I’ll see you again.”

The words rolled over me again and again, a constant reminder that there was unfinished business between us, even if I couldn’t quite understand what that meant.

Days turned into weeks. I kept myself busy, working, meeting friends, filling the empty spaces with distractions. But the thoughts of Patty were like an itch I couldn’t scratch.

Then, out of nowhere, my phone buzzed again.

Patty.

I froze, staring at the name on the screen as if it might vanish if I blinked. I opened the message.

Patty:
“Hope you’ve been well. Still thinking about you.”

The simplicity of the words hit harder than I expected. I’d told myself not to expect anything from him, not to get attached. But here he was, in my inbox again, like a presence I couldn’t shake off.

I took a deep breath, my heart pounding in my chest. I hadn’t replied to his last message, not really. I had just sent him the polite words I thought he wanted to hear, the ones that wouldn’t complicate things. But this time? I didn’t know if I could do that anymore.

Minnie:
“I’ve been okay. I’m glad to hear from you. I was wondering if you were ever going to reach out.”

It was an honest reply. I wasn’t sure where this was going or why I was so willing to let myself be pulled back into this—into him—but I couldn’t stop myself. There was a part of me that was still tethered to him, still unsure of what I was feeling, but wanting to feel it all the same.

The reply came almost immediately.

Patty:
“Of course I was. I never stopped thinking about you, Minnie. I told you, you’re not alone.”

His words were simple, but they felt like more than that. I could hear the sincerity in them, even though we were miles apart. I wondered if he could still hear my silence on the other side of the world.

I looked out of the window, the familiar skyline of my hometown spread out beneath the evening sky. It felt distant and strange, as if I no longer belonged here. The person I had been before I left felt like a shadow of the person I was now. And somehow, even though Patty wasn’t physically here, he had become a part of that change.

Minnie:
“Why do you say that? Why do you keep saying I’m not alone? You barely know me.”

Patty:
“Because I do know you, Minnie. I’ve seen who you are beneath everything you try to hide. Maybe I don’t know everything, but I know enough to see that you don’t belong alone. I don’t want you to feel like you’re in this on your own. I’m here, whenever you need me.”

His words wrapped around me like a warm blanket, but they also unsettled me. I wasn’t used to this kind of attention, this kind of care. I wasn’t used to someone knowing me so deeply, in a way I couldn’t even understand myself.

Minnie:
“I don’t know what to do with all of this, Patty. You’re right. I don’t belong alone. But I don’t know how to let someone in.”

I didn’t expect a response, but almost immediately, there was another message.

Patty:
“You don’t have to figure it all out now. Just take your time. And when you’re ready, I’ll be here.”

It was too much to process in a single moment, but I found myself smiling, despite the confusion swirling in my mind. Maybe this wasn’t the end after all. Maybe it was just the beginning of something I wasn’t ready to define.

The next morning, I woke up to another message from Patty.

Patty:
“Still thinking about you.”

I smiled to myself, something fluttering in my chest. This was the most genuine I had felt in weeks. Maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t as alone as I thought I was.

Maybe he wasn’t either.