Black Rose

(Anna’s P.O.V)

Gravel crunched beneath my tires as I pulled into the brimming lot. The spot designated to me was barely left unoccupied and that made my lips curl in a slight smile. Friday night rush hour was always intense. As I killed the ignition, the familiar neon glow of the bar's entrance pulsed through the windshield, casting an almost surreal light on my reflection in the rearview mirror.

I leaned in, catching the way the overhead light danced in the strands of red and silver that wove their way through my blonde hair and the glint in my purple eyes. Next came the usual relief and dismay that courses through me whenever I saw my midnight self.

Relief washed over me, knowing I hadn’t lost this side of me, the one I’d feared gone when I was pregnant. Throughout my pregnancy, my midnight shapeshifting ceased and I thought I'd lost the other part of me I now call, "Black Rose." As for the dismay, it was a reminder that while I transformed into someone entirely new every midnight,