Black and grey fine line compass rose tattoo with a fleur-de-lis at north and three small stars, on the side of the ribs.

Compass rose tattoo on the ribs

Fine line · Ribs · Black and grey · Photo

A black compass rose sits at the centre of the image, with N, E, S and W letters, a fleur-de-lis at the north point and two dotted circles around the star. Three small eight-pointed stars sit to the right of the compass. The linework is thin and slightly sketchy, with no shading, and the black ink is set against pale skin in a black and white photograph.

Fine line Ribs Compass Compass rose Fleur-de-lis Star Lettering North South East West

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Ruth, the tide has taken the lower steps of the jetty again, so Father has been ferrying the post across in the rowing boat with his cap pulled low and his temper pulled lower. I am writing on the back of the chart you left on the dresser, which seems fitting, since the chart is the only thing in this house that still knows where it is.

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The brass compass Grandfather carried is missing from its hook. I looked everywhere, under the stove, in the coal scuttle, inside the bread bin, and found only the little fleur-de-lis pin you once told me was the lily of the French, though Mrs Pennock swears it is for the Virgin. Whatever it is, it keeps pointing north in my head even when I am standing in the scullery with my hands in the washing-up. The stars you drew round the margin of your last letter are still there, three of them, all sharp and a bit crooked, the way you draw everything when you are trying not to cry.

Father says if you come home by the Thursday boat he will row out to meet it himself, cap or no cap. I told him you would most likely walk the whole coast road and arrive muddy and furious at the price of the ferry. He laughed, which he has not done since March, so I have decided that counts as a fair prediction. Bring the compass if you have it. We can sort out which way is south together, and I will take the chart down to the harbour and nail it to the post where you can see it from the water.

Your loving sister, Nell.