LIVING INK • by Eddie D. Moore

Justin spent hours talking to his tattoo, Jill; and most of the time followed her advice. When he was sad, Jill would do a little dance which always cheered him up. If his friends came over to play games and joke around, she would fill his mind with laughter and many witty remarks and he often would share them with the group. To everyone else she was just another tattoo, but for Justin she was a friend and companion, until he met Sabrina.

Sabrina was gorgeous with long, dark hair, a full figure and a spontaneous personality. His heart burned intensely whenever he saw her or heard her voice. At first, Jill was silent and said little. Justin thought it was very considerate of her to allow them their privacy. But it was not long before the silence became snarky remarks, pointing out things Jill considered flaws — her ears are too pointy, isn’t one of her nostrils bigger than the other, or will the chairs support those thighs. Jill’s comments got more personal and eventually became outright insults accompanied by rude hand gestures. Despite Jill’s attempts to sway Justin’s feelings, he only had eyes for Sabrina.

In frustration, Justin returned to Living Ink Tattoos searching for answers. The tattooist, Bill, had just finished giving a customer instruction on how to care for her new tat and she was leaving as Justin waited inside. Bill had several tattoos and piercings, though some found his appearance to be intimidating, he was one of the nicest people you could hope to meet.

“What can I do for you, Justin?”

“Well, I have a new girlfriend and Jill just doesn’t like her at all.”

“Ha! I don’t do relationship counseling.”

Jill was apparently in a very bad mood because she began to mumble about counselors wearing ties not tattoos, having desks instead of glass counters, and books instead of drawings.

Justin ignored her ranting. “Let me look through your portfolio again.”

Bill began to flip the pages, pointing to options that he considered his best works of art. Daggers, webs, and dragons were among his personal favorites. After he flipped a few pages he came to a man riding a motorcycle. The wind blew in his hair and he wore black leather from head to toe. Jill gasped then hummed to herself. She told Justin this is what a real man looks like and asked why he did not have any leather.

“I’ll take this one, Bill.”

“Good choice! Where do you want him?”

“Let’s put him on my shoulder close to Jill.”

“Let me step into the back room and prepare to work the magic. I’ll be right back.”

After a few minutes Bill returned with three bottles of ink and began, as he promised, to work his magic. They talked about motorcycles, craft beers, and women. Time passed quickly and before long Justin was admiring the new tattoo in a mirror.

“You do miraculous work, Bill. I think I will call this one Jim.”

“Thank you. You already know how to take care of it. When you are ready for the next one, I will be here.”

By the time Justin got home, Jill and Jim were practically engaged. Sabrina met him at the door and greeted him with a long passionate kiss. With Jill focused on Jim, he could once again enjoy his time with Sabrina. Justin now understood why you never see anyone with only one tattoo.


Eddie D. Moore travels extensively for work, and he spends much of that time listening to audio books. The rest of the time is spent dreaming of stories to write and he spends the weekends writing them. His stories have been published by Jouth Webzine, Saturday Night Reader, Every Day Fiction, Theme of Absence, Flash Fiction Magazine, and Adventure Worlds. Find more on his blog: eddiedmoore.wordpress.com.


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