INK

          On an especially hot afternoon, Nikki, Jake and Hana all lie in the plush, green grass in the park beneath the shade of the largest tree, watching shapeless clouds drift by. There were few words spoken as each person milled their own thoughts around in their heads. There was a comfortable feeling of contentment between them.
          Suddenly, Hana broke the silence. “I want a tattoo." She said, casually staring into the bright blue sky. The two boys turned their heads to look at her. “Are you serious?” Nikki asked. "Why?" Still gazing at the clouds, Hana replied. “It’s just something that I’ve been thinking about for a while, and I’ve decided that it’s what I want to do.”
          Jake looked at her with a pensive expression. Eager for the chance to impress Hana, he spoke up. “If you’re really serious, Hana, I know somebody who does tattoos… He works out of his apartment so there are no shop fees. It’s a lot cheaper and he doesn’t check IDs.”
          Nikki scoffed. “Why would you know someone who does tattoos?” Jake opened his mouth indignantly to answer, but Hana interrupted before he could speak, her interest fully peaked. "Can we go today?”
          Jake stammered, surprised at Hana’s eagerness. “Uh, I- I guess we can see. I mean, usually you can't just do these things spur of the moment, so don't get your hopes up, but I can always call him and see if he's busy.” He tried to sound knowledgeable on the subject. Hana sat up excitedly. “Please?” Jake nodded and stood up, brushing the grass from his dark jeans and pulled out his cell phone. He walked a few feet away and dialed a number.
          Nikki sat up to match Hana. He was sure that this was just another one of her wild impulses. “Hana, have you really given this enough thought? I mean, you’re still pretty young. What will it look like when you’re seventy? You won’t even be able to tell what it is through all the wrinkles.” Hana playfully pushed Nikki away. “If I live to be seventy, I probably won’t even remember it’s there. I plan on dying young anyway.” She said, only half-joking.
          Nikki played with her hair absentmindedly, thinking. “What if your parents find out?” He asked. “You know they’ll just blame me like they always do.” Hana shook her head. "They won't see it," she said. "I've decided to get it on my lower back. Tidy, out of the way, but will look sexy when I wear my bikinis. I think it's a great choice."
          Nikki half-frowned. "What about what I think?" This was his last attempt at talking her out of it. Knowing Hana, by this point her mind was already made up. She always did this. She always got some crazy idea in her head, and he somehow got roped in and took the blame when things went wrong. Like the time she had impulsively chopped all of her hair off because she wanted to feel "liberated," or the time she went around trying to start a suicide pact because she never wanted to grow old but didn't want to die alone.
          "What's wrong with growing old anyway?" Nikki thought. "It's just another part of life, and I can't imagine it'd be all too bad if you have someone to share it with. It's a much better option than suicide, at least." Nikki imagined himself as an old man, bent with age, still wearing crazy colors in his hair and dressed in black. He imagined Hana as a petite old woman with a sagging black smudge on her lower back.
          He suddenly realized she had been talking to him. "...and it's my body anyway so it's my right to do with it as I please. Women have fought too long to be oppressed by men's ideas of beauty. It's my choice and I choose to get a tattoo whether you like it or not."
          "Typical Hana," Nikki thought, shaking his head. He looked up suddenly as Jake returned to the group. Jake nervously wiped his phone on his jeans before slipping it into his pocket. Hana was practically dancing in her seat to hear his answer. "Well," Jake spoke slowly, not intentionally causing Hana's excitement to grow. "If it's just black and white, he can do it today but we have to be there within the next 20 minutes, so-"
          Hana had already jumped to her feet, dragging Nikki by the wrist. "Let's go!" She called over her shoulder as she ran through the park. Jake hurried to catch up. "Shouldn't I lead?" He asked, huffing. "You don't even know the way!"

         
         
          As they approached a drab grey apartment building on the poor side of town, Nikki looked around in disgust. There were a few broken windows and old, peeling paint revealing multiple colors where layer after layer of cheap paint had been thinly brushed on over the years. Trash was strewn everywhere; it had clearly been there a while, and it didn't seem as though anyone had any intention of picking it up any time soon. "This place looks super shady. It's probably full of junkies and hookers living here. Even my parents' house isn't this bad. Is this even legal?"
          Jake twisted his face in uncertainty. "Getting a tattoo at somebody's house? It's technically not illegal, I think..."
          Hana had removed her white and beige high heels to make it easier to run. Now she gripped Nikki's arm to steady herself as she slipped them back on. "Don't want to step on a heroin needle or a rusty nail." Nikki said, mocking the dilapidated state of the place.
          The three teens walked up the creaky wooden stairs covered in cheap brown carpeting. Jake paused in front of a door, knocking loudly. They waited, and Jake checked the time on his cell phone.
          Finally, they heard the sounds of someone unlocking multiple locks from the inside. A tall, athletic man with stylishly combed hair, a black dress shirt with rolled up sleeves and more tattoos than skin opened the door. "Hey cousin." he said. His voice was mature and cool sounding. Jake smiled nervously.
          "Hey, Todd. Um, this is Hana, the girl who wanted the tattoo. She said it's just something small so hopefully it won't take you too long. Oh, and this is my friend, Nikki." Nikki noticed that Jake had neglected to introduce him as "Hana's boyfriend."
          Jake's cousin nodded and opened the door further to allow them to come inside. They marveled at the interior of the apartment. It was extraordinarily tidy, yet full of all kinds of things. The walls were covered with a wide variety of foreign art and tattoo sketches. Statues of Hindu gods and knick-knacks filled the bookshelves. A table in the corner held all kinds of ink bottles, rubber gloves, plastic wrap and tubing for tattoo guns, as well as several guns themselves. A plush, brown leather sofa sat opposite the tattooing area. "Make yourselves at home. I don't have a lot of time today, so let's get right to it. What is it that you want?"
          Hana quickly whipped out her cell phone. She pulled up a drawing of a delicate, lace winged dragonfly. It was beautiful and skillfully drawn. "I want this in the center of my lower back, if you please." She said, handing Todd her phone. Nodding, he spoke nonchalantly. "Email it to me so I can print it."
          While the two of them worked out the details, Nikki and Jake sat on the couch. Nikki was amazed and curious at the sheer volume of things that had been packed into this apartment. Everything had a place. It was so strikingly different from the inhospitable exterior.
          As the printer hummed, Todd began to prepare the supplies he would need for the tattoo. "You might want to take your shirt off if you don't want to risk getting ink on it." Shamelessly and without hesitation, Hana slipped her stylish white blouse off over her head. Nikki and Jake couldn't help but stare at her petite, perfect figure and large, full breasts cupped by lacey, almost transparent white lingerie. Both of their hearts began to race. Hana thoughtlessly tossed her blouse at Nikki.
          Todd remained completely professional as he brought the printed sketch over to the tattoo table. He had traced it meticulously onto a piece of transfer paper. He instructed Hana to lie on her stomach on a reclining chair next to the table. He pressed the transfer paper dragonfly against the small of her back. Slowly peeling it away, it revealed a beautiful purple outline over her porcelain skin.
          Peering seriously at the small outline, Jake nodded in approval. “It’s going to look great, Hana.” Nikki furrowed his brow, making a puzzled face. “A dragonfly? Why would you get a tattoo of that?”
          Hana flipped her hair matter-of-factly. “It’s a symbol of life and the frailty of humanity. Dragonflies are gorgeous, light creatures. They always look so carefree to me. They don’t know what is in store for them, or that their lives will end at any moment. What do they care about the future? They live for the moment, and that’s all any of us should do. We are all dragonflies.” The two boys sat quietly, pondering the meaning of the tattoo.
          As Todd began to work, they watched the lines come to life. He traced the outline with impressive speed, the ink pooling up on Hana’s milky skin, being wiped away, and pooling up again as the tattoo progressed.   
          Hana winced periodically as the image was carved deep into her body. The dull buzzing of the tattoo gun was the only sound.