Today you turn 23 — and for the world, it's just another birthday. But for me? This is your first birthday. The first one where I get to be part of your world, the first one where I get to say — I'm so glad you exist.

I still remember that one day like it was yesterday — we started at Janpath, hunting down that Depaul's shake and coffee like it was a mission we couldn't fail. Then somehow we ended up at Vishwavidyalaya for laphing, and then the Food Bus, and then Sundar Nursery with the evening light falling just right on everything. It was a random day. It was a perfect day. It was the kind of day I never want to forget.

Koko, I don't always say these things out loud — but you're someone who somehow found a space in my life that didn't exist before you. You make ordinary moments feel like stories worth telling. The car rides, the laughs, the park days, the shared silences — I treasure all of it.

You are special to me. Not in a way I can fully explain, but in the way that matters most — you just are. The kind of person who stays in your heart even when you're not looking for them to.

We have so many memories already, and I want so many more. More road trips with matching sunglasses. More places we haven't been yet. More moments worth photographing and more moments too good to even touch a phone.

So here's to 23, Koko — may this year bring you everything your heart secretly wants. And may I be there to see most of it. 🌸