Black fine line mandala flower tattoo centred on the upper back of a person wearing a black top, between the shoulder blades.

Enlarged with AI from a smaller original

Mandala flower tattoo on upper back

Fine line · Back · Black and grey · Photo

A black mandala-style flower tattoo sits centred on the upper back, with a layered outline of petals, a ringed scalloped border and a dotted centre. The linework is fine and even, and the shading is solid black ink with no colour. The photograph is taken from behind and shows the shoulders, a dark top and part of the hair, with the design filling the middle of the frame.

Fine line Botanical Back Mandala Flower Petal

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Nell, the flour is still warm on the board and the ovens have been ticking since four, so forgive the smudge on this page. Mum's doily came out of the biscuit tin this morning. You remember it, the one she crocheted the winter before you left, eight petals and a scalloped rim with a dotted knot in the middle where she always ran out of patience and started again. I spread it under the iced buns for the Saturday trade, and Mr Okafor from the chemist asked whether it was Dutch.

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I have been thinking about the centre. Mum always said you start a mandala from the middle and work outward so nothing gets lost on the way. Last night, while the dough proved, I tried it on the back of an order sheet with a biro. Keep your hook steady, she'd say. I got three rings before the bread needed knocking back, and the rings were lopsided, and I laughed at them on my own in the kitchen like a fool.

This morning, before the shutters went up, I lifted the doily off the stand to fold it away. On the underside of the rim, in her pencil, she had written the date you were born and a long row of small numbers, one for each stitch around every petal. No word about you leaving. Just the count, as if she meant to pick up where she left off.

Come home for the spring bake-off and bring the good scissors. I will have the kettle on and the first loaf out by six, and we can count the petals together. Your loving sister, Ada.