make a picture of illustaitoin holiday was supposed to be perfect. Lena had planned everything down to the minute: the road trip playlist, the matching family shirts, even the weather (or so she hoped). After a year of chaos, this vacation was meant to be calm. Healing. Instagram-worthy. It began unraveling three hours in. First, the car overheated in the middle of nowhere, steam billowing out like a distress signal. Then her brother dropped his phone into a roadside puddle while trying to “document the adventure.” By the time a tow truck arrived, it started raining—sideways. They finally reached the beach resort at midnight, soaked, exhausted, and starving… only to learn their reservation had been accidentally booked for next month. The lobby was full. The nearest available motel smelled like damp carpet and regret. The next day didn’t improve things. A seagull stole their breakfast. Lena got sunburned in the shape of her sunglasses. Their “relaxing boat tour” ended with everyone bailing water using flip-flops while the guide calmly announced, “This has never happened before.” By the third day, Lena snapped. She laughed. Right there on the beach, hair tangled, clothes sandy, plans in ruins—she laughed until her stomach hurt. Soon everyone joined in. The disaster had become the joke they’d never stop telling. On the last night, they sat on the shore eating convenience-store snacks, watching the sunset bleed into the ocean. “This is the worst holiday ever,” her brother said. See more