It’s April 2026, and I am writing this from Crema Café in Musanze. I am in town to moderate a Turning Pages book club session that will take place later today at Isange Paradise Resort.
Today, we will be turning the pages of a booklet titled Magical Musanze, from Afrika Nzuri’s library—a publication born out of a tour that took place about six years ago.
As I sit here, sipping my favorite aromatic beverage, I find myself reflecting on that journey. Coincidentally, Crema Café is one of the local businesses that sponsored the tour.
A lot has changed since then. The café has moved to a new location, and some of the founders are no longer around. But one thing remains the same—the warm welcome I receive every time I return to Musanze.
There is a quiet comfort in that familiarity. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee, the soft hum of conversation, the unhurried rhythm of the morning—it all creates the kind of space where thoughts settle and memories resurface with ease. In moments like this, time doesn’t feel linear. The past and present sit side by side, as if catching up over a shared cup.
Later today, I will sit with a group of readers and turn the pages of a story that was born from that earlier journey. But for now, I pause. I take another sip. And I allow myself this small, grounding moment—one that reminds me that while places evolve and people move on, some connections endure in the most simple, unexpected ways.