This is a Tattoo

It started with one on her lower back the day she turned 18.
A human skull with wicked bat wings, inked in permanent black and gray. She’d known since she was 15 that she would get it, and what it would symbolize.


She’d never thought she’d make it to adulthood. Had hardly considered the possibility of still being alive on her 18th birthday. Sometimes it was hard to imagine even being around for another week.

But this mark, this picture that would eventually fade and warp over time would prove that she had survived.

It didn’t even hurt too much. She’d felt worse. When the artist filled in the eyes and dark outline, that was what caused the most pain. Nothing she couldn’t handle, though. She’s a tough girl, in that sense.

When it was done, 3 hours later, she was given a tri-fold mirror to admire her new personal piece of art.

She loved it. She thought it was beautiful. And she was sure that she’d never feel the urge to have another, because this was all she’d ever wanted to have.

Two years later found her to be a much happier person. Not just happier, but stronger. The only times she cries now are when she’s happy. She realizes how beautiful life can be, how blue the sky can be, how beautiful music can be, and how staggering it can be to just stop for a moment and feel.

She felt the itch to have another. A quote. Words. She wanted letters printed into her skin.

This time her musings were short-lived and only a few months after first deciding that, yes, she did want another tattoo, she had the phrase “What you feel is what you are, and what you are is beautiful” engraved into her left shoulder in an elegant cursive script.

As the artist rubbed ointment on the bleeding wound for her, she felt the content of the words seeping through her flesh and infusing her very soul. Once again, she felt beautiful. Forever stained, yet beautiful.

Now, less than 3 months after having that quote tattooed onto her back, she wants another one. Whoever said tattoos were contagious definitely knew what they were talking about. She’s not sure what she wants exactly, but is thinking about getting it done somewhere on her right side. Regardless of what it is or where it’s placed, it’s absolutely imperative that it flow with the other two.

She’d like something written in Japanese.

Yes, yes, she knows it’s been done over and over, but this won’t be just a few random kanji that translate to hope, love, or strength. She likes to think she’s more unique than that.

The tone she’s going for is like the song Season’s Call by Hyde.

Empowering, with a lingering sense of something being lost. Bold remembrance stated simply. Pain with an echo.

Yeah, something like that for her next tattoo.
 
 
Reference:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxEanANlCQw