Two black and grey swallow tattoos in flight, one on each of two forearms shown side by side in a black and white photo.

Enlarged with AI from a smaller original

Two swallows in flight on forearms

Forearm · Black and grey · Photo

Two pairs of swallows in flight are tattooed on two forearms, with each arm carrying a near-identical pair of birds. The birds are rendered in black ink with soft grey shading along the wings and bodies, giving them a gently dimensional look. The monochrome photograph is framed tightly on the forearms, with the wings angled diagonally across the skin.

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Pru,

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The swallows are back on the drying green. Two pairs, arriving the same afternoon, and they went straight for the gap under the walkway on Block C as if somebody had left them the key. Mr Okafor from fourteen says they're the same birds as last year. He said it the way he tells me the lift is broken, a fact you're expected to put up with.

Grandad used to say a swallow on your arm meant you'd come home from five thousand miles of sea. He had two, one on each side, though he only ever sailed the one route and got home from it the same way every time. I always thought he'd made the story up to make the needle sound worth it. Mum says he had them done in Hull in 1961, paid the artist in rum, and had no idea what he was letting himself in for.

Anyway, I've decided the birds are a sign, which you'll say is my sort of nonsense. The kettle's on, the good biscuits are in the tin, and I've bought a new chair for the balcony so you've no excuse to sit on the bin lid like last time. Come for the bank holiday and bring the photos of the new flat. The swallows will still be here, and so will the biscuits.

Love, Jean

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