I suppose it is a fact not commonly known among 16th century girls, but the art of tattoos is among the most ancient forms of art in the human history. Scientists trace it as far back as the 5.000 BC. It was used as part of religious rituals or as a symbol for social status, or simply for aesthetic reasons. From archaeological findings all over the world it is concluded that pretty much most civilizations around the globe used the tattoo art as a means to express their creativity or their beliefs.
Well, I’ll admit that things are a bit different nowadays. Tattoos are part of our popular culture and most people do it just to impress or simply because it is fashionable. Yep, fashion does have a huge impact on people’s aesthetic here in Virtus.
I also have tattoos. Two of them. One on my right arm and one high up on my left shoulder blade. You might wonder if I too am a fashion victim. Maybe I am. But I really wanted to have them. And it’s not like I display them in public or anything. I did them because they made me happy. I have no need to show them to the world. On the contrary, I feel like they are something very personal and special and I don’t want strangers to know about them.
The one on the left shoulder blade is the same among me, Alex and Max.
After our escape from the orphanage and the first harsh months in the streets, we came even closer than before. We needed no spoken words to communicate, we understood each other’s feeling just from the expression of our faces, and we intuitionally grew more protective of each other. It was a bond like none I had experienced in my life.
And one day, we just decided we wanted to also share a common mark.
“Let’s get a tattoo, guys. The same one, all of us, on the exact same spot on our bodies”, Alex had said.
We debated a bit as to what we should get. I didn’t want something too big or too colourful. And we all agreed that it had to be something meaningful.
“We were en-caged and now we are free”, I blurred out suddenly. That’s what the orphanage had felt like, a cage.
“Like birds”, Max giggled.
“Birds, huh?”, Alex considered the sudden idea.
The more we thought about it, the more we liked the metaphor. So, that’s what we got in the end.
Three birds flying free.
It is not a refined detailed design. We wanted something more obscure and ambiguous. They could be birds or shadows playing tricks or some other creature, unknown to man, conquering the skies and spraying the world with magic. I prefer the third version more, even though Alex and Max couldn’t stop laughing when I first mention it to them.
Pffff… What do boys know about magic anyway? They let me draw the design and didn’t complain about it and that is all that matters.
…but what about my second tattoo you will ask. Well, guys, that is a story for another time!