Dear Alex…

Dear Alex,

Its been a while since we last spoke. Three years to be exact. I still remember the last conversation as clearly as if it were just yesterday. You called me to find out if my birthday was in August. It isn’t. However, I wish everyday that I had said that it was. And not just for the red velvet cake you would have bought me but also for the chance to see you one more time.

I hope beyond hope that you are happy where you are. I’ve been told that we are made of matter and that when we die, we cease to exist.

However, this is a concept I refuse to get behind and not just because I am a Christian and believe that our souls go to either of two places after death, but also because of awesome people like you, Alex. There is so much of you that I miss. So much of you that you poured into everyone around you so selflessly.

You believed so much in me and encouraged me to go beyond myself.
You challenged me to be better and pushed me to see my potential at a time when all I was doing was feeling sorry for myself. You teased me endlessly about whichever crush I deigned to have at the moment. You listened to my woes and gave me very sound advice that I still apply today.
You wmade me laugh till I cried and spent hours on phone just being silly with me.

I attribute my writing career to you, Alex. You encouraged me to take up blogging because of the way I “describe things in text, so surely you should be a great writer, try it and see.”
You said I wrote things that people definitely wanted to read and therefore. I should be a successful writer should I put my mind to it. You promised that I’d get to write your biography. You’re not here to see how far blogging has brought me, how far writing has brought me… but here’s hoping that you’re watching from heaven.

You were everything a girl could hope for in a best friend. Everything. I miss you. A lot. But I know that you are living it up in heaven.

Its your birthday today…you would have been 33 years old today. You used to joke about how you decided to come out of your Mother’s womb, forcing her to go in labour on Labour Day. I’m sure there’s a pun in there somewhere…

Happy Birthday! I know there’s black forest cake where you are. I wrote this today, to celebrate you, Alex Kirungi, your life and the fact that you touched soooo many lives by simply being you. Silly, goofy, slightly insane, philosophical, amazing and unapologetic about your self. And I know so many more miss you.

You shared a poem by an anonymous poet once and it captures the essence of who you were;

As I stumble through this life,
help me to create more laughter than tears,
dispense more cheer than gloom,
spread more cheer than despair.

Never let me become so indifferent,
that I will fail to see the wonders in the eyes of a child,
or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged.
Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people,
make them happy, and forget momentarily,
all the unpleasantness in their lives.

And in my final moment,
may I hear You whisper:
“When you made My people smile,
you made Me smile.”

We miss you. But we also know that we will be seeing you soon when our time on earth is done.

Sleep well dearest friend. Sleep well.

I love you.

Mable