WHEN FRIENDSHIP FAILS 3
710 Words
Chapter 3: The Years We Stayed
At first… it didn’t feel like a loss.
It felt like time had simply slowed down.
The days after the admission news were strangely peaceful.
No early morning lectures.
No rushing to catch buses.
No pressure.
Just… life.
They still met under the mango tree.
Still laughed, still shared food, still talked about the future like it was something waiting patiently for them.
“We’ll try again next year,” Nadia said one afternoon, full of determination.
“Of course,” Marcos added. “Next time, we go enter with full force.”
Amaya smiled.
“Yeah… next time.”
But “next time” came… and went.
One year passed. Then another.
Then another.
Life didn’t wait the way they thought it would.
It moved—quietly, steadily—without asking.
Nadia started small.
Accessories. Clothes. Anything she could afford to sell.
“I can’t just sit down and be doing nothing,” she said one day, arranging her items neatly.
Amaya admired her.
“You’re doing well.”
Nadia shrugged.
“I have to. Nobody will do it for me.”
Marcos tried different things too.
Small business ideas.
Quick plans. Big dreams.
But nothing stayed long enough to grow.
“I just need one breakthrough,” he kept saying.
“One good opportunity.”
Amaya believed him.
Even when he didn’t believe himself.
And Amaya?
She stayed.
She helped at home. Took on responsibilities quietly. Supported Nadia when business was slow. Encouraged Marcos when things didn’t work out.
But somewhere in between…
She started disappearing.
Not physically.
But inside.
One evening, she found her old notebook.
Her WAEC notes.
Pages filled with neat handwriting. Diagrams. Highlights.
Dreams.
She flipped through it slowly.
Her fingers paused on a page where she had written boldly:
“Microbiology — my future.”
She stared at it for a long time.
Then gently closed the book.
Outside, she could hear Nadia laughing loudly.
Marcos arguing about something trivial.
Life was still happening.
Just… not hers.
“Amaya!” Nadia called from outside. “Come and see this thing!”
Amaya wiped her face quickly and stepped out.
“What happened?”
Nadia held up a dress.
“Tell me this won’t sell fast!”
Amaya smiled.
“It will. It’s nice.”
Marcos shook his head.
“You people and fashion.”
Nadia rolled her eyes.
“At least I’m doing something.”
There was no argument.
But the words lingered.
Little things started changing.
Nadia became busier. More focused. More independent.
Sometimes she would cancel plans.
“Customer wants to see me,” she’d say.
Amaya always understood.
“Go,” she would reply. “It’s important.”
Marcos became quieter.
More distant.
Sometimes he wouldn’t show up at all.
“I was busy,” he’d say later.
But no one asked with what.
And Amaya?
She stayed the same.
Or at least… she tried to.
One night, the three of them sat together again.
It had been a while.
The silence between them felt unfamiliar.
“So… where do you see yourself in five years?” Nadia asked suddenly.
Marcos laughed.
“Five years? I’m just trying to survive this year.”
Nadia smiled slightly.
“I’m serious.”
She turned to Amaya.
“What about you?”
Amaya froze.
The question felt heavier than it should.
Five years ago… she had an answer.
Now?
She wasn’t sure.
“I don’t know,” she said quietly.
Nadia looked surprised.
“You? You always know.”
Amaya forced a smile.
“Not this time.”
Marcos leaned back.
“Life no dey always go as we plan am.”
Silence followed.
And for the first time… they all felt it.
Something had shifted.
Not loudly.
Not suddenly.
But deeply.
Days became weeks. Weeks became months.
And slowly…
The spaces between them grew.
Not because they stopped caring—
But because life was pulling them in different directions.
One evening, Amaya sat alone under the mango tree.
The same place everything started.
Now empty.
No laughter.
No voices.
No shared dreams.
Just memories.
She exhaled slowly.
And for the first time… she admitted it:
Something was changing.
And she didn’t know how to stop it.
- Writer
