The Wellness Bargain

Elena stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, at the single silver hair that had appeared overnight at her temple. She plucked it, wincing at the sharp pinch, and watched it fall into the sink like a discarded secret.

At thirty-five, she'd become obsessed with the vitamin regimen her colleague swore by—A, D, E, K, a alphabet soup of promises in amber capsules. Her bathroom counter looked like a pharmacy, each bottle a tiny monument to her fear of decay.

"You're spending a fortune on what?" Marcus had asked during their last encounter, his thumb tracing the lifeline on her palm. "You're beautiful, El. This—it's like you're trying to fix something that isn't broken."

She'd pulled away then, unable to explain that at work, the new hires were twenty-two and fresh, while she felt like a house with good bones but peeling paint. The startup world ate its young, but it digested its older workers slowly.

Today, she found herself at a popup wellness fair in the lobby. A woman with too-bright eyes sat behind a table labeled DESTINY & VITAMINS.

"Your palm tells me you're running," the woman said, taking Elena's hand. "Chasing something you can't catch. All the vitamins in the world won't help if you don't stop running."

Elena jerked her hand back, furious. But later, at her desk, she found herself typing Marcus's name, then hesitating. The silver hair would return. More would follow. The vitamins couldn't stop time, only make her poor.

She deleted the message, gathered the pill bottles, and dropped them in the break room trash. Someone else could have the illusion of control.

Her phone buzzed. Marcus. Coffee later?

Elena touched her temple where the hair had been, then typed: Yes. Some things couldn't be bought in bottles.