Wings

psychic

Terra

I looked up as a girl walked into the shop. Normally I would just point her to another artist and be done with the matter, but something about her made me look back. I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to gauge her aura better. She had a strange determination to her, a longing for something that she didn’t know. I had an odd feeling that she deserved something different. Different from what, I didn’t know.

The girl reached the desk and introduced herself. “Melody”, she said cheerfully, holding out a hand to shake. “I had a design finalized here yesterday, and scheduled the actual inking for today.”

I smiled at her. “Terra”, I said by way of introduction. “This may be a bit last-minute, but I just changed the artist for a ‘Melody Wing.’ I take it that’s you?” The girl nodded. I gestured her towards a small side table. “Can I see the design?” Melody handed it over a bit bashfully. I fully understood her shyness as I looked down at the design, a gruesome depiction of two wings growing out of a person’s skin. Melody smiled a bit shyly at me, saying the wings were supposed to go on each shoulder blade, designed to look like she was actually growing wings.

Now I understood why Melody had had that strange aura about her. I glanced down at the design and asked if I could add a small change to the sketch. “As long as it looks all right and isn’t explicit, I’m open to additions and changes”, Melody said. I added one twist to the design, a Tibetan symbol that was equidistant from each wing. When it was inked onto her skin, the design would sit at the top of her spine, the one part of the design that would stay still when she moved her shoulders.

Melody considered the symbol carefully, moving the paper to look at the change from all angles. Finally she looked up. “I like the change. It adds some stability to the design, a little bit of a grounding element. It can stay.” I grinned. “What are we waiting for, then? I believe your tattoo awaits you.”