Twenty-five years Dana had been waiting.

She tried to be patient during that time

but she hadn't always managed to be as patient as she'd like. But today the
opportunity had finally come. The thing she always imagined would make her the
happiest person in the world was about to happen. She didn't know why at this
specific time she all of a sudden felt sick inside.
She sat in the darkened room waiting. It was now a standoff. He had the power to
put her in the room, but not the power to make her repent. It wasn't fair and no
matter how long she had to endure the darkness, she wouldn't change her attitude.
At three years old, Sandy's stubborn personality had already bloomed into full
view.
Wandering down the path to the pond had become a daily routine. Even when the
weather wasn't cooperating like today with the wind and rain, Jerry still took the
morning stroll down the path until he reached the pond. Although there didn't seem
to be a particular reason Jerry did this to anyone looking in from the outside,
those who knew him well knew exactly what was going on. It could all be traced back
to a specific incident that happened exactly 5 years previously.
Wandering down the path to the pond had become a daily routine. Even when the
weather wasn't cooperating like today with the wind and rain, Jerry still took the
morning stroll down the path until he reached the pond. Although there didn't seem
to be a particular reason Jerry did this to anyone looking in from the outside,
those who knew him well knew exactly what was going on. It could all be traced back
to a specific incident that happened exactly 5 years previously.
Rhonda prided herself on always taking the path less traveled. She'd decided to do
this at an early age and had continued to do so throughout her entire life. It was
a point of pride and she would explain to anyone who would listen that doing so was
something that she'd made great efforts to always do. She'd never questioned this
decision until her five-year-old niece asked her, "So, is this why your life has
been so difficult?" and Rhonda didn't have an answer for her.
The blinking light caught her attention. She thought about it a bit and couldn't
remember ever noticing it before. That was strange since it was obvious the
flashing light had been there for years. Now she wondered how she missed it for
that amount of time and what other things in her small town she had failed to
notice.
It was a concerning development that he couldn't get out of his mind. He'd had many
friends throughout his early years and had fond memories of playing with them, but
he couldn't understand how it had all stopped. There was some point as he grew up
that he played with each of his friends for the very last time, and he had no idea
that it would be the last.