She Created Art that Came to Life.

Maggie jubilantly donated every single business suit she owned to the local women’s shelter after she retired and pledged to never again wear uncomfortable clothes that made her feel disguised. She recently retired after 35 years of soul-deadening work as a government lawyer. She had always dreamed of having an impact on the world in some significant way and now was finally her time.

Maggie initially quite contentedly played Wordle and computer bridge for hours by herself. She then threw herself into learning how to play pickleball in hopes that she would make new friends. But Maggie did not feel like she fit in anywhere - not at pickleball, the book club or even in her longevity training class. She found herself getting lonelier and lonelier. She began ruminating about her inability to connect with people and the lack of meaning in her life.

Maggie did not see it coming this time because it played tricks on her for most of her life. Seemingly out of nowhere, a huge sleeper wave snuck up on her and tossed her around, dragging her weightless body back and forth. Finally, completely exhausted, she landed in her pajamas on her bed and could not will her legs to move or her feet to touch the ground for months. She watched Kelli and Mark and daytime television all day while she contemplated suicide. She could not read or watch the news because then she would remember that there was a new president and really become despondent. Her lifeless body refused to exercise or really to even move at all.

When her body succumbed to the waves of depression, Maggie never knew how long the feeling would last. She just had to let go until, as usually happened, Depression eventually receded when it was done pummeling her about. One day, when depression left for awhile, Maggie got out of her bed because she felt compelled to locate her art box. Maggie rummaged around the chaos in her garage until she found the box hidden behind all of her unused exercise equipment. At some point last year, after months of obsessively painting, drawing, and glueing, she unceremoniously dumped all of her paint, brushes, graphic pencils, and empty canvases into a giant cardboard box and put it out of her sight because she felt that she had nothing to say anymore.

For some reason, Maggie felt like she needed to make something tangible again, something that she could see and touch to confirm that she was living. Before, she instinctively painted and drew abstracts in gray, mustard, steel blue and muted olive tones- sad and lonely colors.

But now, she instinctively drew people she wish she knew and places where she would like to be, in different, more vibrant colors. Maggie lost all track of time when she worked on her art. She stopped watching daytime t.v. and scrolling through dog videos and celebrity news for hours. She wore a different outfit during the day than the one she slept in. She moved her body and drank less wine. She went outdoors.

One day, much to Maggie’s surprise, one of the figures she created jumped off the canvas and introduced herself. Her name was Alex and she lived at the beach. She was thin, beautiful and very fashionably dressed. She exuded cool and mystery. Alex was the type of woman everyone wanted to know.

Alex was a very successful writer and had won many awards for her unique perspective and creative word choices. She was extremely humble but also confident. She gave off an air of peace and serenity. What an interesting woman, thought Maggie. Talking with Alex felt effortless and exciting. Maggie was really sad when Alex had to return to her canvas because Alex had reminded Maggie of what it felt like to be excited again. Now, Maggie’s inside voice was even more alone. She feared that she would never feel that wonderful feeling of meaningful connection again.

Maggie was thrilled when Robin came off her canvas the next day. Robin was also thin and beautiful and intelligent and serene. She lived in a forest and loved to hike. And just like Maggie, she had a dog. In fact, the dog looked very similar to Maggie’s own dog. Robin and Maggie talked for hours like they had always known each other until Robin also had to return to her canvas.

After that day, figures came and went Willy-Nilly. They would suddenly appear to have coffee with Maggie in the morning or to take a walk with her during the afternoon. They all lived in such beautiful places and were so intriguing.

Sometimes, they talked non-stop, but other times they just sat with her while she was reading or watching television. Sometimes they invited her to visit their canvases.

Maggie and the figures had great conversations. More than most people Maggie knew previously, the figures really understood her. They were so easy to talk with and never judged her. They were excellent company and liked the same things that she did- dogs, the ocean, quiet places, travel, nature, reading and art.

When she started to feel down, the figures would just gently sit with her. They helped her figure out what she felt and why. Sometimes they gave Maggie pep talks and other times they just listened. They told her about their lives and “sparked her interest in new ideas and places to see. Sometimes when they needed to leave to return to their canvas, Maggie would start to panic about being alone again, but the figures reassured her that she would be okay and encouraged her to paint what she needed.

So Maggie began painting and drawing more and more to fill the hole inside. She never realized before how much she was missing.

Because Maggie felt less alone since the figures came to life, she was inspired to donate her work to hospitals and other places with sad and lonely people who might need companionship too. She hoped that the new figures would continue to leave their canvases and make connections with the people who saw them. She tried to create warm and empathetic figures.

For the very first time in her life, Maggie felt that she had purpose. She intended to continue creating the life she wanted.