“Aijay. Aisha. Yoland?”

“Hello?” Are you guys there?

Hmmm…. That’s odd. Aijay, Aisha, and Yoland were just behind me. One moment, we were talking; now…I can’t see them. Or hear them. What’s going on? 

Perhaps, I need to return and find them. I need to find my friends. I started retracing my steps and what I found instead was a dead end.

“How?” I thought. “How is this even possible?”

Oh God. I noticed my hands moving like they weren’t mine. Something else was controlling them. Something that isn’t me.  

I touched the dead end, made of earth, as if it’d give me answers. I tried digging through, hoping and searching, screaming “Aijay. Are you there, please?” “Aijay!”

At this point, sweat was forming across my face. I noticed the sound coming from my chest as though it was about to burst open. 

“Aisha!” I called next.

“Please. Please. Talk to me. Tell me something! Aisha! Aisha!” I screamed. But still, no response. 

Maybe something happened. How could that be? To all three of my friends? At the same time? 

And then I decided to try one last time.

I found myself on the floor. Looking down with knees folded and hands cupped into face. 

“Yoland.” I whispered and cried. “Please. Answer. I’m afraid.” 

“Please help me, Yoland. Help me.”

I sniffed and mumbled words even I didn’t understand.  

Perhaps, this was all a dream. I will wake up soon. From the horrors of what happened. And so, I slept and woke up to the same reality. I tried scratching the end with my hand, but saw nothing in sight that could help me dig my way through.

I let out a scream but heard no response. After a gruesome battle of trying to dig through and search for answers, I paused and asked, “How did I even get there?”

The last thing I remembered was walking with Aijay, Aisha and Yoland. I know Aijay and Yoland were together. Aisha was slightly behind me, but I could hear her. I swear she was right behind my back.

It was a beautiful and sunny day, and the sky was blue. We were chatting. I was chatting. I even remember making them laugh. I swear I heard their laughter until I looked back and saw no one.

That’s mysterious. Why am I the only one here? What happened to my friends? We promised to stick together. To stay together no matter what happened. Why am I suddenly alone?

I stayed there for some days and soon saw a pathway. A pathway that could fit only one person. Maybe that’s why I ended up here. I looked closer and now I understand why Aijay, Aisha and Yoland couldn’t be here with me.

It was clearly my path but still, where were they? Were they okay? I pressed my hand to the wall one last time with prayers on my lips. I prayed for my dear friends. Prayed that they were okay before starting out on this path.

It was hard. I kept looking back, thinking and wondering if Aisha, Yoland and Aijay, or AYA, as I call them, even thought about me. Were they even worried? I put one step before the other hoping and praying I reach the other side.

But how do I know the other side exists? I started journeying on this path even though I was uncertain. I didn’t know what to expect. I don’t know what lies ahead but faith and hope kept me grounded. They helped me power through.

I kept walking on this path while keeping AYA’s thoughts somewhere at the back of my mind. I wondered if we’d ever be friends again. How come they never watched out for me? I was lost in thought, didn’t even realize I had made over half the journey and had gotten to the messy in-between.

I looked ahead and saw the path. It looked far away. But right in front of me was a mountain with rocky and spiky edge. I have no choice. I must go through to continue the journey.

I looked down at my feet and realized I don’t even have the proper shoes. It’ll be hard but I will never give up. It’s not in my spirit. Not today. Not ever. I started the climb but then, I stopped because it was my first time climbing a mountain. I don’t even know how to climb the mountain.

As I sat and devised my next game plan, I saw a stranger approach me. I jolted as he inched closer and closer.

I became afraid. Who is this person?

Before I could say anything. He said “Hi, my name is Stranger, and I have a message for you. You are in the messy middle. And the messy middle is where real work happens. That’s where you see what someone is truly made of. It is where love and action take root or fade away. Magic begins in the messy middle.”

Mr. Stranger disappeared before I could ask any question.

But somehow, I made the climb. I didn’t know how, but I saw myself on the path. I had gotten to the other side. I saw a beam of light and three figures that looked like AYA’s.

There were actually AYA’s. I was mad, sad and excited. I felt different pangs of emotions. Do I even want to be friends with them? They left me. I thought. Who leaves their friends alone for long? I saw their faces. They were smudged with dirt. Had they been searching for me too?

At that moment, I remembered Mr. Stranger and what he told me about the messy middle. I went through my messy middle. Was Mr. Stranger trying to tell me to go through the messy middle with AYA as well?

And then, I heard it. It was their voices.  

I woke up with heart racing and sheets damp.

But who are Aijay, Yoland, and Aisha?