Traditional tattoo of a swallow above a compass with chain links and orange and purple flowers on a forearm.

Swallow, compass and flowers on a forearm

Traditional · Forearm · Mixed · Photo

A swallow in flight sits above a compass star set in a gold ring, with chain links looping from the top of the ring. Orange and red flowers with teal leaves sit beneath the compass, and a purple flower forms its centre. Bold black outlines, solid fills and a red backdrop behind the bird give it a classic bold-outline look with colour shading.

Traditional Forearm Swallow Compass Chain Flower Leaves Star

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

The snow has sealed the Hollin Pass since Tuesday, and the landlord of the Crooked Stile has run out of candles before he has run out of opinions. You are the only guest who has not complained. You sit at the end of the bar turning a brass pocket compass the carrier left you in lieu of his fare, its needle sulking towards the hearth instead of north.

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Outside, the swallows that nested under the eaves in August have long gone south, though one stayed behind. It roosts in the stable loft and comes down each morning to pick crumbs from the flagstones. Mrs Ainsley says it is a sign of nothing but a poor summer. You think she is wrong. You have been counting the days since the thaw should have come, and the bird has been counting them too, flicking its forked tail at the frost on the glass.

On the third night the needle swings. You carry the compass to the window, rub a clear patch with your sleeve, and see a lantern bobbing up the valley road, the road the map says is shut. Someone is walking it anyway. You open the door before anyone knocks, and the snow pours over the sill like a tide that has been waiting its turn.

The swallow goes out past your shoulder into the white, straight as a thrown line. You follow it with the compass open in your palm, the star pointing exactly where the bird has gone, and behind you the landlord finally finds something useful to do with his voice. You do not turn around. You already know the way.