She uncapped the jar and dipped the paintbrush into it. Then everything transformed. She was the artiste and my face was the canvas. She painted my face wordlessly like a painter who was a master of the craft. Bottle after bottle she silently worked at her masterpiece not saying a word. It felt like it took forever but when she had capped the last bottle I was shocked to learn that only twenty minutes had gone by. She pushed her chair back and in a hushed tone she told me to look in the mirror. I inhaled deeply afraid that it had turned out a mess, that Melody had wasted her time on me. I shut my eyes and turned to the mirror. With my eyes still closed I took another deep breath. My eyes slowly opened and when they were fully aware I was looking at a stranger. My face wasn’t my own. I belonged to that of a model or an actress. I held my breath. It was just too much. I had to look away. As I exhaled my lips curled into a smile. “Melody, wow. What did you do? I’m .. I’m shocked.”