Black and grey tattoo on an upper arm of an anatomical heart over a fanned hand of playing cards, including an ace of spades and hearts.

Anatomical heart and playing cards on upper arm

Realism · Upper arm · Black and grey · Photo

The tattoo shows a realistic anatomical heart with visible vessels and shaded chambers, placed on the front card of a fanned set of playing cards. An ace of spades sits in the top corner of the front card, and heart suit symbols appear faintly on the cards behind. The linework is bold and black, with soft grey shading inside the cards and across the heart, and the photo is framed closely on the upper arm.

Realism Upper arm Anatomical heart Playing card Heart

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Nell, the ferryman took the last of my wages for the crossing, so this paper is the back of a tide table and the ink is borrowed from the chandler. Don't read it out in front of Mother.

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On Thursday I sat down with Walter Fenn in the back room above the net loft, where the tide comes up under the boards and everyone pretends not to hear it. He dealt three cards face up, the way a surgeon lays out instruments, and the one on top was the ace of spades, black as harbour mud. On the front card he'd drawn a heart in pencil, opened up like a clock, every vessel labelled in the doctor's neat hand from Plymouth. He said whoever held that card had to play as though the thing inside still beat.

I lost the boat, Nell. I'd have lost the cottage too if Walter hadn't pushed the cards back across the table and said he'd take my word instead. He's a hard man, but he kept his promise, and when I left he gave me the ace without a word, the way you'd hand back a splinter you'd pulled out.

Last night I walked down to the slip and watched the boats come in with their lamps lit, one by one, and I counted them the way Father taught us to count gulls. Fourteen. Everyone came home. The ace is in the tin with Grandmother's buttons. Keep the tin for me, will you, and I'll collect it when the tide turns.