March 11, 2016, at a bar in Brooklyn celebrating David’s birthday (which Kavi and I originally tried to secretly plan for a day David was busy, whoops). Kavi drank a beer a complete stranger left behind, brought cupcakes that he shared with everyone at the bar, and tried to get an Uber for two of my friends when they missed their bus (but his phone had no service, and he was devestated that he couldn’t help). He also gave the barback and bartender his famous mega-tip. As everyone left, Kavi ended the night sitting quietly with his hands near his face, palms apart and fingertips together; a way to feel his heartbeat and calm down, something that he learned from his grandfather. It was all of the best of Kavi on our last night out together.

I remember going over to his house as a kid after school and the first thing we would do is go into his pantry. It was a WALK-IN pantry that had all the snacks and goodies you could imagine. Our usual snacks of choice? Some days it was Oreos and milk. Other days, it was Fruit by the Foot and Doritos. Once we felt re-energized by our snacks, we would go have fun. Some days, it was the Super Nintendo and Donkey Kong. As we got older we would go down the hall to the computer room and play Where in the World is Carmen San Diego or Jump Start 4th grade.

As we got older we made new friends and our friend group increased in size and everything we did, we did as a group. Sleepovers, game nights, and movie nights were common within our group of friends. Once I moved into my new house behind Shopko in middle school, I remember inviting Kavi and all my friends over for sleepovers and game nights all the time.

But, despite all the great memories, my fondest memories of Kavi will always be when we were young kids; when we were in kindergarten and elementary school, playing Donkey Kong, wrestling in the living room, and eating Oreos with milk. Because those are the memories of Kavi that I share with no one else and those experiences are unique to only him and I.

Kavi and I grew up eventually, as we all do. We went to high school, graduated college, and met countless of friends and peers along the way.

But there was once a time, in the very beginning, when it was just him and I. And it is that time that I will always cherish the most.