Gemotions

The art fair had been a marathon. Maya, the artist, felt a profound hollowness. The conversations felt like they were bouncing off a brick wall. The critics had been vicious. Her body ached, and she had trouble remembering why she even began painting.

She was waiting for her train home. An older woman sat across from her. Something was familiar about the woman’s hands.

Then Maya saw it. A vibrant tattoo of her "Dancing Shadows" series snaked up the woman’s arm. The colors, the movement, the emotion she'd poured into the painting was copied, without permission. The sight made her legs feel wobbly.