Three photos of fine line black ink tattoos: '1 of 3' with lines on a forearm, arrows with '2 of 3' on a forearm, and '3 of 3' with an arrow on the upper back.

Numbered 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3 arrow tattoos

Fine line · Forearm · Black and grey · Photo

This three-panel collage shows a set of matching tattoos in sequence. The top two panels show the inner forearm with thin black lines, script numbering reading '1 of 3' and '2 of 3', and simple arrows, while the bottom panel shows an arrow beneath script reading '3 of 3' on the upper back. The linework is fine and uniform, with no shading, and the ink is black against plain skin.

Fine line Lettering Forearm Back Arrow Line Script Number Text

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Take it to an artist as a reference. A good artist will make it yours rather than copy someone else's tattoo.

A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Lottie, the Bramleys are coming down early this year, so the ladders are out again and your cousins have been told they may not climb past the second rung. You will remember that rule was made for you. Your grandad cut three arrows from ash in July, the way he did when your mum and her brothers were small, and burned a number into each shaft with the tip of a poker so the marks would outlast the varnish. One for each of you. He said a set of three is only a set once everyone has theirs.

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The boys took theirs straight down to the bottom field and shot at the wasp nest in the hedge until Dennis came out with the hose and a face like thunder. Ruth kept hers in the pocket of her cardigan all afternoon and wouldn't let anyone touch it. I found it later on the kitchen table, with the cardigan folded over the top like a blanket for something sleeping.

So I have been thinking about which of you will hold the third one when the orchard is sold, and whether it matters who. Your grandad would say it matters that it is passed on, not who takes it. He always did have a way of making a thing sound finished before it was.

I have put yours on the windowsill above the sink, where the light comes in green through the Discovery trees. Come at Christmas. Bring the boys and bring the arrow, and we will see what the apples have decided by then. Love, Nan.