"TWELVE ROSES" | Chapter 4: December 15 | Matter

Daily Chapter from December 12- 25 Christmas

Chapter 4: December 15 | Matter

Anna had begun to notice the rhythm of her days. They started with waking up alone, the silence of her apartment amplified by Tayler’s absence. She avoided her reflection in the mirror as much as she could, tired of seeing the same lost woman staring back. Her routine felt like walking through quicksand—getting dressed, forcing herself out the door, trudging to work through the cold that seemed to cut straight to her bones.

But the roses had introduced something new. A thread of anticipation, fragile and quiet, tugged at her when she woke. She didn’t want to acknowledge it—not fully—but it was there. A part of her wondered if today would bring another.

And when she opened the door to leave for work, there it was.