The Wellness Pyramid

Mara stood in the breakroom, staring at the corporate wellness pyramid chart taped to the refrigerator. At the base: 'Foundation Foods.' At the apex: 'Transformational Living.' She'd spent six months designing this bullshit for Apex Solutions, and now it stared back at her like a judgment.

'You're not actually eating that, are you?'

She turned to find David, the new VP, leaning against the doorframe. He nodded at her container of cold spinach and chickpeas, leftovers from Sunday's meal prep. The same meal prep she'd abandoned three weeks ago when life caught up with her.

'It's food, David. People eat food.'

He laughed, that smooth corporate laugh that never reached his eyes. 'Sure, but we're launching the Vitality Plus campaign next week. Can't have the wellness director eating—what did you call it?—'sad desk lunch.' Bad optics.'

Mara's palms went sweaty. She hated how he did that—casual judgments wrapped in observation. Like he was checking her pulse without touching her wrist.

'It's not sad. It's efficient.'

'Whatever you say.' He pushed off the doorframe. 'By the way, HR wants to tweak your vitamin protocol. Apparently B12 shots aren't inclusive enough for the budget. They're thinking multivitamins. Bulk orders from Costco.'

'My protocol was based on actual blood work from the employee—'

'Save it for the meeting, Mara.' He disappeared down the hall.

She looked at her spinach again. Suddenly she was twenty-five again, standing in her first apartment, crying over a wilted salad because she'd forgotten to eat again. She'd promised herself she'd never be that person again—someone who forgot to exist until someone reminded her.

The pyramid chart seemed to shimmer. Foundation Foods. Transformational Living. What about the space between? What about the days when you couldn't remember if you'd taken your vitamins or your birth control? What about the moments when you looked at your palms and realized the lines weren't telling you anything about your future at all?

David's voice carried from somewhere down the hall. 'The pyramid represents ascent! Growth! Upward mobility!'

Mara threw her spinach in the trash. She wasn't hungry anyway.