Then came the Verona Bay Wellness Fair. Maya signed up for a booth to paint live portraits. Next to her were juice cleanses, six-week shred challenges, and a scale that promised to “read your truth.” Maya felt out of place—until a teenager named Lily shuffled over, clutching her hoodie closed.

“Good,” Maya said. “What else?”

“That’s you,” Maya said. “And you are not a before picture.”

Lily blinked. “It… walks. Breathes.”

“It laughs. Hugs my mom. Carries my backpack.”

One evening, a fitness influencer named Tara approached Maya’s booth. Tara had millions of followers, six-pack abs, and a hollow look in her eyes.

She painted Lily not as she wished to look, but as she was: flushed cheeks, a soft belly peeking out, hands that had just held a crying friend the day before. When Lily saw the portrait, her eyes welled up. “That’s… me.”

Maya handed her a brush. “Paint what you miss.”