I never realized how nervous I would be to get a tattoo. I have a lot of them, and they don’t even really hurt. Every year since the day I turned eighteen, I had gone to tattoo shops all around the world.

I think what scared me most about this one was that this was a specialist. According to local legend, anyone who got a special ink out onto their skin was fated to it.

So far, it had been right every time

I shivered and wrapped my jacket tighter around my body as my friends chatted about what they were going to get.

“You know that it doesn’t work like that right?” Cooper asked. He was the one who convinced us to come do this.

Poor Lily looked terrified. “W-what?” She squeaked. I have a feeling no one told her where we were going.

Dani hooked and arm around her shoulder. “Yep. We’re about to leave our fate in the hands of a tattoo artist.” She was smiling. I knew that the thrill was getting her blood pumping. She’s always been like this.

Lily groaned and covered her face. We kept walking down the busy street until we saw a glowing neon sign.

FATES INK

We all walked in, taking in everything we could see. There were all sorts of people in line, waiting for the same artist. She looked like she was about in her twenties, like us, which made me nervous.

The wait just for check in was crazy. There were at least twenty people in front of us. It took us about an hour to check in, and another thirty minute wait just to be at the front.

Lily looked like she was about to have a panic attack. Her face was buried into Coopers jacket and Dani was rubbing her back.

I looked towards my boyfriend, Nick, and he shrugged. “I guess we’re up first.” I gulped and nodded. He smiled at me encouragingly as I walked up to the artist.

“Hi! My name is Amelia. I’m guessing your

here for our specialty?” She asked. Her smile was bright and cheery. Looking at some of her other designs, I relaxed a little bit.

Nodding, I said, “Yeah. Me and my friends are getting one for my birthday.” She grinned and got all of her tools out.

“Ok, first things first,” She said, “Where do you want it?” I turned around and pointed to the back of my neck. “Ok. And you did sign the contract at the front, right? According to the law, none of the artists can be held liable for what happens to you.” I nodded and she started with the tattoo.

I was surprised at the pain of the needle when she first started. I hissed through my teeth, trying not to move. It had taken one visit to teach me that the hard way.

I had a tattoo of a my sisters name on the inside of my arm, and at the end of it there is a little swoop where I had winced a bit to much.

A cool breeze washed over and calmed my nerves. Everything clicked into focus when I felt the needle lift from my neck. She put the bandage on and I thanked her.

I walked out to the lobby and waited for everyone to come back. We decided as a group that we would keep our fates a secret until the bandage could come off.

-

I was walking back to my apartment with Nick when he stopped and faced me. “What?” I asked him. He had a weird look on his face.

“I know we said we would keep it a secret; but I need to see it. I couldn’t handle it if it was bad.” He actually looked worried.

I laughed. “Ok, ok. You can look.” I turned around and peeled the bandage back. I gave him a moment to look at it and turned back around. “It’s a Medusa. I looked it up. It means good fortune.” He sighed in relief and we kept walking.

Poor guy. I mean, how was I supposed to tell him? ‘Oh sorry, it means I’m gonna turn to stone!’ What kind of person do you take me for?

We finally made it to my door. He leaned in and I kissed him. I gave him a long hard hug. “What was that for?” He asked, laughing as he hugged me back.

“Oh, I don’t know. Just felt like it.” I said, a smile on my face even though I wanted to cry.

He grinned back. “Well, good night. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you, April!” He added over his shoulder.

“Good night!” I shouted back. As soon as the door closed I burst into tears and ran to the nearest mirror.

A shockwave ran through me as my fate started to take hold. It started at my feet, working its way up to my face. God, why did it hurt so bad. I could feel every organ it passed over start to slow and finally stop working.

I took one last deep breath and fell into a deep, painful sleep.