We met at her friend's place on the 26th of December, 2013. My cousin Ben had asked me to accompany him to see his girlfriend, Jessica. When we arrived at Jessica's parent's house we met a very beautiful girl in the living room. We greeted and I sat next to her. I told her, respectfully, that I liked her smile and her cheeks. Then I told her that if she was single then we were very likely going to end up together.

As our conversation deepened into happenings around the country and religion, I was impressed by her thought pattern. Even though I disagreed with some of her points, she was articulate and brilliant with her arguments. It was at this point that I asked if she was dating, and told her that if she wasn't seeing anyone we could get to know each other some more.

Two weeks later we were officially dating. She left for University and a few weeks later I found out that she was 16 years old and freaked out. I tried to explain to her that it was illegal for us to be together as she was still a minor, even though her faculties were well-developed. She took offense and broke up with me. I kept checking up on her, so communication between us didn't completely break down as she would share with me the difficulties that she was experiencing at school. On the eve of her 18th birthday, I asked if we could pick up our relationship from where we stopped. She said yes and we continued.

For the 10 years that we have been together, we have recorded four breakups and two major fights. The breakups were over very hilarious issues that seemed like a big deal to her at the time. For instance, she broke up with me close to her 19th birthday because someone had told them during a student fellowship seminar that as Christian sisters they had no need for boyfriends until after graduation. Today I tease her about those times and we laugh.

I was 24 when we met and I am 33 today, on my way to 34. I watched her grow into a proper adult while she watched me conquer the turbulence of life. I had nothing when we started, then I made small fortune but lost everything to a sickness, yet not so much changed between us. She was my strongest source of support during the darkest phase of my life. She's still here supporting my effort at rebuilding.

Her friend, Jessica got married to my cousin Ben in 2020. Three years after theirs, ours is here!