six

Jocelyn entered Amelia's apartment and locked the door behind her. Inside the bedroom, Amelia heard the main door close and called Jocelyn.
"I'm here." Jocelyn said, picking up the call, "You're in your bedroom right?"
"Yeah, come here but don't try to open the door," Amelia instructed.
"Okay..." Jocelyn said, confused. "I'm here, now what?"
"Do you see a light under the door?"
"Well I just turned on the hall light. Let me switch it off and check."
Jocelyn was in complete darkness. "There's no light Amelia. I can't see a thing."
"Fine," said Amelia, "open the door."
She watched as the door opened and the light disappeared, a confused and worried Jocelyn in it's place instead. 

five

Amelia was sitting in bed with the lights off, watching a movie on her laptop. It was a romantic comedy about a girl trying to track down an old lover - exactly her kind of movie. Midway through the search, Amelia got distracted. The darkness behind her screen had disintegrated into a yellow glow. The light was back. This time she knew it wasn't a dream. The movie still running, Amelia stared at the door and reached for her phone. 12:07 AM. Jocelyn would be asleep. She called her anyway.

"Amelia?" A groggy voice picked up, "what happened?"
"It's back," Amelia said, "I was watching a movie and then all of a sudden yellow light started coming in through the door."
"Oh my God," replied Jocelyn, now fully awake. "Do you think someone is in your house?"
"No. There's no sound and the light isn't moving," Amelia said, knowing that the light would disappear as soon as she opened the door.

But at the moment, she couldn't think of anything else to do than to get rid of it. So she got up to close it. However, she had forgotten about the sounds and when she touched the door knob, she could hear them again.

Amelia realized that Jocelyn was still talking to her.
"Amelia? Hello? Can you hear me?"
"Yes. Joce can you come here? Let yourself in with your key"

After assuring that Amelia was alright, Jocelyn got out of bed, grabbed Amelia's key and headed out the door. What was going on?

four

Amelia was sitting on a bench, sipping hot chocolate she'd bought from Rizzo's. It's was now 5:30 AM, Jocelyn and Sammy would be here any minute. She heard barking and looked to the left, smiling. "Sammy!" Amelia exclaimed as the Collie greeted her.

"Ready to go?" Jocelyn asked.
"I actually already jogged today," Amelia said, "How about we just let Sammy loose?"

With that, Amelia began to recall her morning experience while Sammy enjoyed his leashless morning run.

As always, they left the park around 6:30 AM. Amelia went home and got ready for work. She was a guidance counselor at West Mill Elementary. Sitting down at her desk, she had all but forgotten about the door. That is, until two nights later. 

three

Taking half a step out, Amelia peered around, not sure what she was expecting to see. She stepped back in and closed the door. No light. "Of course not," she thought to herself, "I must be losing my mind."
She walked over to her bedside table and picked up her phone. 4:48 AM.

Amelia looked at the door. She knew she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep right now, so she grabbed her sneakers and headed out for a jog. It was a bit early but that was fine, the park down the street usually began filling up with joggers and dog owners around 5 AM. 

two

Shuffling over to the door, Amelia tucked loose strands of her hair behind her ear and reached for the door knob. Gasping, her hand reflexively let go of it as her heart hammered against her chest. After a few breaths, Amelia reached for the door knob again. This time her hand was shaking.

Once again, as soon as her palm met the metal knob, the sound of chattering voices and clinking glasses filled her ears. Amelia forced herself to keep holding it. Listening closely, she could make out faint music and the clicking of heels on the floor. Slowly, she turned door knob. The light disappeared and she opened the door to her empty hall. 

one

Feeling cold but not wanting her sleep to go away, Amelia felt around for her blanket. Unable to find it, she groaned and opened her eyes. Before she could continue her search, Amelia's attention was drawn to the yellow light flooding in through the crack between the door and it's frame.

"How strange," she thought, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, half sure she must be dreaming. Her house didn't have a single yellow light and the hall had no windows from which the light may be streaming in. Swinging her legs over the bed, she got up to investigate. 

The Game of LIFE

To the creators of 'The Game of LIFE':

If only it were that simple. Perhaps it is. Perhaps there's an invisible dice dictating our every move. That would explain how indecisiveness often leads to spontaneity. We consume so much energy trying to figure out our next move, only for the wheel to spin and decide for us. (There are no dice in LIFE.)

I find it amusing how easy you make it all seem. A clear path, with only one or two branches, all leading to the same 'Millionaire Space' (unless you decide to gamble and end up broke). I believe you haven't read Frost's 'The Road Not Taken,' or perhaps you simply disregarded it. "Way leads on to way," they don't merge back again.

I don't blame you for giving kids a misconception of life. If your game was like the real deal, I'm sure it wouldn't be as popular. But tell me, what am I supposed to do now? I'm standing at the fork in the road, knowing they don't merge back, knowing there's no 'Millionaire Space' waiting for me at the end. Even Frost is of no use here. There are no trodden leaves, no clear paths, and definitely no going back.

I guess that's one thing you definitely got right - forward is the only way to go. No running around the same loop like in 'Monopoly.' Of course, 'Monopoly' does have some things right, but I'll save that for another day.

Regards,
Charvi