All Wild Roses Have Thorns

1 Month Before; Sunlight

I quickly busy myself with getting ready for work as a barista in the cafe below. The usual morning routine of showering then throwing ton of mousse into my shoulder length curly hair was gracefully executed. As the thick strands of hair slowly dried into springy corkscrews, I put on my two cartilage piercings, black hoops. Before taking in the entire completed look, I squeeze into black skinny jeans that magnify my curves and a slightly fitted v-neck to match my eyes. A soft smile colours my face with satisfaction as I tie my apron on, fixing it so it’s centered around my fairly large chest and broad shoulders. I move nimbly out of the bathroom and to the door to put on my grey, silver, and purple high tops on while I pin a tag to my apron. Hello. My name is Kota.

I open the door and move down the hall a little ways before getting to a spiral staircase and moving quietly down it. I get to the bottom and pull my time card out of my pocket and put it in the scanner. If I was in the Moon dimension, my wolf ears would be pricked but I am in the opposite realm, The Sun dimension. Here all I have to show emotions are my bright blue eyes and body language. The Sun dimension is the world where you have 24 hours of sun to be what most people would call normal. You get to hide behind a mask of reality, while in the Moon Dimension you are who you actually are. Who you are incapable of being in the Sunlight even if that means switching gender, species, appearance, anything. You can live a totally different life there, but you have too, some people don’t really change that much. No one has to know who you are crossing over dimensions, you become new, making your mark with each 24 hour visit. The one thing is though, once you die in one world, you can’t go back, you only have one world after that and no memories of the other one. They become repressed and if someone tries to make you remember, it is fatal.

I personally become an entirely different person in Moonlight than in Sunlight. The job I have in that area requires it, but here, I am quiet and polite. I just don’t want to get in anyone’s way. I move around the kitchen promptly to gather my notebook and pen.

“Hey Dakota, get back here so we can get them served!” The top barista and owner, Sawyer Vickers, called from behind the counter. I hurry from the kitchen to the front desk where there was a line of two or three people. I knew he could have handled them by himself but I rapidly immersed myself into taking orders and making coffee, tea, and stocking the pastries. Average day of work at Gentle Rock Cafe.

I jot down names onto a notepad just in case they come again and I need to remember the spelling or just to know who I’m serving. I finish writing down a name and the order. Before I can hand it to him, he snatches it up with a quick flick of the wrist and swiftly gets to work.. He doesn’t really look like someone who would be working in a little cafe, much less owning one. He has fire red hair, deep chocolate brown eyes, and slightly pointed ears to go with his tall and lean figure. To be honest he looks more like he should be a model, or a jock but here he is living in an apartment above his own cafe that only has three employees. They are Thomas Patrick, Etsy Walsh, and myself. I like Etsy. She is an open-minded and intelligent party animal. I have had to pick her up from a bar many a time, since I won’t actually go. There is just too many people. Not that I hate people, I would just like to meet them in a more controlled and less drunk and suspicious setting. Thomas doesn’t like me too much because of my “life style”, not always easy being bisexual. At one time we would talk and he would try not to be homophobic but he usually failed and just made things uncomfortable for both of us, now he just saves his breath and avoids me altogether. At least he sort of tried. Not that he really has to worry about seeing it because my chances of finding someone is slim because of how little I go out. Well, at least in the Sunlight.

“Hello, how can I help you?” I ask politely, offering a small smile to the female in front of me.

“Hello, I would like a medium white chocolate mocha frio with an extra shot of espresso, to help me get through the morning,” She chuckles, offering a smile back that gives me shivers and a weird deja-vu feeling. While I put down the order, I can’t help but look up at her, feeling my face get warmer. She stands with her hands behind her back and hair falling around her soft round face, which is when it suddenly hit me.

“My name is Sage,” She said, assuming that was the next step. She smiles at me, sending me into panic. I try to gain my composure by hiding behind my dark hair, quickly jotting down her name and her order.

“Oh god, I hope she doesn’t recognise me! I don’t want to put her in any further danger!” I scream to myself trying to peel my eyes away from her, but as always she is gorgeous and leaves me mesmerized.  Luckily for me, she is distracted by our decor and doesn’t notice my staring or how red my face is. Sawyer nudges me and nods towards her and I cough, bringing her attention to me again.

“Y-you may wait for your drink at the end counter, thank you,” I say nervously, nodding to area referenced.

“Thank you, but don’t I have to pay first?” She asks and I nod vigorously and start to mutter, holding back whimpers.

“Yes, yes, I’m sorry that will be 3.50,” She smiles and passes me a five. I scramble to get her change as she smiles states gentle, “It’s okay, everyone has their off days.” With a nod, I hand her 2.50. I give a sideways glance to Sawyer and he gives me a look that conveys his confusion and the expectation of an explanation later.

I pretend I didn’t see him, which resulted in an eye roll as he finishes Sage’s drink with whip cream and a top. Sage smiles at me, which results in me internally melting into a puddle, before moving to the counter where Sawyer rings a bell.

“Medium white chocolate mocha frio with extra espresso for Sage!” He states with a grin, writing her name skillfully onto the chilled cup’s sleeve in bold letters.

“Thank you,” She repeats with a soft nod, taking a brief sip to make sure the order was write. A satisfied mmmmmm puts Sawyer’s little perfectionist heart to rest as he cleans up the area from her order. She moves to take a comfortable seat in a lounge chair in front of our fake fireplace. I watch her for a few moments before turning to the next customer. I take a deep breath and think, “This is gonna be a long day...”