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Ghost Town

Nairobi dating is wild. You meet a guy, he seems cool, you chat for a few days, maybe even go on a date or two, and then suddenly, poof he’s gone. Like he was a figment of your imagination. 

That’s exactly what happened with me and Kevin.

We met at a mutual friend’s birthday party. It was a chill, low-key event. I wasn’t even looking for anyone; I was just there for the free food, honestly. But Kevin, with his easy smile and surprisingly decent dance moves, struck up a conversation. We talked for hours about everything from the current state of Nairobi traffic to how he thinks ugali na sukuma is an underrated meal.

I liked that he didn’t try too hard. He wasn’t the type to brag about his job or where he lived (which I later found out was Rongai—tough commute, but hey, he made it work). After the party, we exchanged numbers, and he sent me a text as soon as I got home.

For the next few weeks, we texted constantly. He’d send me good morning messages, memes, and random stuff about his day. I couldn’t lie—I enjoyed the attention. And okay, maybe I stalked his Instagram a little. Just to check, you know?

One Friday, after a long week of work, he asked me out on a proper date. “Let’s hit up Village Market,” he suggested, “I know this nice spot with really good pasta.”

Now, I’m not the kind of girl who says no to pasta, so of course I agreed. The date went well, like really well. He was charming, funny, and even remembered I mentioned how much I loved mint chocolate ice cream. We walked around the mall afterward, and he made me laugh so hard I almost spilled my ice cream.

“Next time, let’s do something more low-key,” he said as we parted ways. “Like a movie night at my place?”

“Sure,” I replied, trying to play it cool, but inside I was thinking, Yes, Kevin!

The next day, I sent him a casual “Hey, what’s up?” text. You know, just to keep the momentum going. No response. I figured he was busy. Nairobi guys work hard, right? I didn’t want to be one of those girls who overthinks everything.

By the end of the day, though, my phone was still silent. Okay, no biggie, I thought. Maybe he’s just not a weekend texter.

Two days went by. Still nothing.

I caved and sent another message.

“Hope you’re good?”

The text sat there. No double ticks, no “Kevin is typing…” just silence.

By day three, I was in full-blown detective mode. I called Carol and told her the whole story.

“Umecheck his socials?” she asked, immediately going into FBI mode.

“Yeah, he’s active on Insta. He just posted a story yesterday,” I replied, slightly annoyed.

“Aah,sweetie, huyo amekughost!” she said, almost too excited. “Lakini si usijali. Nairobi guys are like that. One minute, wako hapa, the next, wamepotea.”

I groaned. “But it was going so well! Why would he disappear just like that?”

Carol sighed. “It’s Nairobi, babe. Don’t take it personally. Kuna wenye wanafanya hivyo kila siku.”

Days turned into weeks, and still no word from Kevin. At this point, I wasn’t even sad. I was just annoyed. Why even bother texting me, taking me out, and making all those plans if he was just going to vanish?

One night, while scrolling through my messages (and ignoring some other guy who had started DMing me on Instagram), I came across Kevin’s last text. Next time, let’s do something more low-key, it read. I rolled my eyes.

“Low-key? More like no-key,” I muttered to myself, tossing my phone on the bed.

Then, as if on cue, my phone buzzed.

I glanced at the screen, fully expecting it to be a promotional text from Safaricom or an M-Pesa message from my mum. But nope. It was Kevin.

"Hey, sorry I’ve been MIA. Work’s been crazy, and I’ve been swamped. You good?"

I stared at the message, completely dumbfounded. Was this guy serious?

I debated for a full five minutes whether to respond or not. On one hand, I could call him out for ghosting me. On the other hand, maybe he was telling the truth? Maybe work had been crazy, and I was just being paranoid.

But something about the casual tone of his message rubbed me the wrong way. It was like he hadn’t just disappeared for nearly a month.

I finally replied, but not with what he was expecting.

"Hey, I’m good. But no thanks."

A week later, I ran into him at the same mutual friend’s party. He gave me that same charming smile and tried to strike up a conversation. But this time, I wasn’t interested. 
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