April 16 · 2026

Happy 20th, Aya

I built you something nice to celebrate that you're getting older! Scroll slowly - there are some people, some places, and some words for you in here.

this is for you. don't read it in public.

you, in the photo I keep coming back to.

scroll, slowly →

the year, put into numbers

I made you a list. of course I did.

What we have doesn't really fit into a spreadsheet. But I tried my best anyways.

0

trips to Morocco

October 2025 · January 2026

≈ 0 km

between Riga and you

give or take a layover

0

incredible year

and counting

also, on the back of an envelope:

150,000 text messages sent (I tried counting)
1,500 hours spent on calls
501 "can you hear me" moments per call
∞ things i wish i could go back and relive for 5 more minutes
whole lotta random thoughts that turned into full conversations
0 times we ran out of things to say
1 person I'd choose again without thinking
1 cake that doesn't really exist

the route, sketched roughly. not to scale.

Trip one · October 2025

The first week.

Marrakesh → wherever we wanted to go that day.

I remember shaking from fear and excitement while being surrounded by other passengers on the plane. Almost a year of texting, calling, saying, "ONE DAY WE'LL MEET INCHALLAH". And there we were - facing each other, not knowing what to say or do. It all felt so surreal, yet amazing.

We walked too much, ate too much, took a thousand photos of nothing in particular. Sharing all of it with you made me feel closer to you than I ever thought was possible.

day one — first picture together. awkwarddd

walks — the square we made ours and had some of our best conversations

would love to get lost here again with you

dress — hey this would look good on you!

we look so cute together (here I'm already thinking of when to come back)

Trip two · January 2026

The return.

Same cities, different season, and without the awkward first days.

This time the airport felt easy. We hugged and 😽 like a continuation, not an introduction. We didn't have a plan, but we were right where we wanted to be.

The second trip still had its firsts! You got to take care of me while I was pooping myself, and we even celebrated New Year's together. You can only do that once a year!

pancake — i think we got way better at cooking. YUMMERS

we tried so hard to understand wtf does the art mean

Cold morning, warm coffee. — cold morning. warm everything else

Little moments

A drawer of small things.

The trips were the headlines. These are the footnotes, and honestly the part of the year I'd be saddest to lose.

The 2 a.m. voice notes

i talk nonsense, you laugh, and it just works.

dawg — YEA THATS RIGHT WHO'S A GOOD GIRL?

Inside-joke economy

We basically have our own language at this point. It's beautiful.

the goofy photos we shared of each other

facetime — our monthly FaceTimes with terrible internet

Things I am grateful for

that you're real with me. that you don't pretend. that being with you never feels like effort.

we should do something stupid.

— either of us, any given evening

end — i did not want to leave this place.

sleepy — i think you sleep too much but i forgive you

good — here's a picture of you and Morocco. not sure which one I like more

i don't think i say it enough but you matter to me a lot.

— me

For your 20th

A few wishes, properly written down.

Texts are easy. I wanted to put these somewhere they would stay.

Aya,

I feel like everyone tells you your teens are the formative years but honestly I think 20 is when it actually starts. Like you spend all of being a teenager waiting to figure stuff out and then you turn 20 and realize nobody figures it out, you just get better at not panicking about it.

I hope this year is good to you. And I hope it's a little bit hard too - in the way that's actually useful, not the way that just sucks. You knoooow what I mean.

Don't lose the part of you that laughs first. Seriously. That's the best thing about you and I will fight anyone who tries to dim it.

Be proud of yourself this year. Not just for the big stuff - for the random tuesdays. For the times you got out of bed when you really didn't want to. For being kind when nobody was watching. That stuff counts way more than people say.

I hope the people around you are good to you. And the ones who aren't - I hope they just kind of... fade out. You don't owe anyone a dramatic exit.

I hope you go everywhere you want this year. And I hope I will receive some of the pictures.

Anywaysss. Somewhere in the chaos of being 20 just remember there's someone in Latvia who's stupidly proud of you, who isn't going anywhere, and who saved you a piece of cake on the next page ❤️

always, with love, your baby

written: on a late night, in Latvia.

Cake time

I made you a cake.

Pretend like it's a real one pls

If it doesn't load, open it in a new tab

Happy birthday, baby.

I'm so glad I get to know you. Twenty looks good on you already.

with love from yours

p.s.

if you scroll back up the photos still load slightly differently. that's not a bug, it's just how the page reads.

also I'm sorry that this is two weeks late. took me a while :(