Gemotions

The studio was a mess. Brushes lay scattered, paint tubes were uncapped, and the scent of linseed oil hung heavy in the air. Amelia, hunched over her easel, felt every single ache in her body. The museum show had been a whirlwind of preparation and then, just yesterday, the opening. And now, the after-party. She was still reeling from it all.

A notification popped up on her phone – a photo from a friend. It showed a man at a beach, and on his back, a startlingly precise rendition of her "Tidal Shift" painting.

She dropped her phone, the world swimming before her eyes. The hours spent on the artwork, the painstaking detail, the vulnerability she poured onto the canvas – all of it now… on someone's skin. She felt a deep sense of emptiness.