copyright Ceayr
Grandmama was as colorful as her house, but instead of flowers adorning her steps, she had pictures covering her arms and neck. Maybe other places too. She’d been in the circus, she said.
Five years after she died, I came across a book of criminal tattoos. As I read the meanings of the designs I’d grown up seeing on my grandmama’s skin, I realized I never really knew her.
“You knew her,” my mother said when I confronted her. “You knew the person she remade from the ruins of that former life. It is easier to change spirit than skin.”
The Green-Walled Tower 
June 7th, 2019 at 12:54 pm
Wow! What a lovely story.
June 7th, 2019 at 4:08 pm
Thanks!
June 7th, 2019 at 1:34 pm
Dear David,
I love where you took the prompt. Profound, if not brilliant, last line.
Shalom,
Rochelle
June 7th, 2019 at 4:06 pm
Thanks, Rochelle. It took me a couple days to come up with one for this picture, but I’m glad it worked for you. 🙂
June 7th, 2019 at 1:48 pm
I think grandma did a great job of transforming her life. And good for mom for pointing it out to her child. Nice story.
June 7th, 2019 at 4:05 pm
I think about that sometimes when I see wonderful people with terrible tattoos from some dark time in their past.
June 7th, 2019 at 2:06 pm
What an interesting take on the prompt, loved it!
June 7th, 2019 at 4:05 pm
Thanks! I saw all the colors and that’s just where it led me. 🙂
June 7th, 2019 at 4:24 pm
I have such mixed feelings about tattoos. Sometimes I’ll see a person with them up and down their arms like a comic strip and can’t help but be fascinated. One of my doormen has a huge tiger covering his back. I always wonder where the desire comes from to eternally paint yourself. It’s interesting your take on the house…how it inspired this essay. Love the idea of Grandmama covered in tats. Nice you’re penning these again…:)
June 10th, 2019 at 1:13 pm
If I got a tattoo, it would either be something Christian or something Canadian, like a maple leaf. But it’s just easier not to get any. 🙂
June 10th, 2019 at 3:37 pm
Agreed.
June 8th, 2019 at 5:26 am
Well written, David. I really liked this story. I wouldn’t know a criminal tattoo if I saw one. I’ve heard some are for neighborhood gangs. My dad had tattoos on both arms as he was in the U.S. Navy before, during, and after WWI. I heard my grandmother almost fainted when she first saw them. My brother was in WWII but didn’t choose to get any. 😀 — Suzanne
June 10th, 2019 at 1:10 pm
I was reading through some as research for this, but decided not to give any specifics, if only because of the word limit. I’ve always thought about getting a tattoo but there are very few things I’d want to have permanently on my skin, so it’s easier not to. I’m glad you liked the story.
-David
June 8th, 2019 at 11:28 am
Delightfully different, and those last few words are just perfect.
My go at Friday Fictioneers!
June 10th, 2019 at 1:08 pm
Thanks, Keith. Glad you liked it.
June 9th, 2019 at 9:56 pm
I adore this story. It says so much. I love the enquiring mind of the granddaughter and the fact grandma chose not to reveal the origins of the tattoos. The girl might not have been ready to hear it.
June 10th, 2019 at 1:08 pm
Thank you so much! Your comment really makes my day. 🙂
June 10th, 2019 at 1:17 pm
You are very welcome, David 🙂
June 10th, 2019 at 9:58 am
What a brilliant take on the prompt, David!
Love where you went with it and the most important message at the end.
June 10th, 2019 at 1:07 pm
Thanks, Dale. I found this one hard to think of a good story for. Glad you liked it.
June 10th, 2019 at 1:37 pm
Any time it’s hard to think of a good story, they come out best, I have discovered.
June 10th, 2019 at 1:56 pm
Yes, no one said that writing was always (or usually) easy. 🙂
June 10th, 2019 at 1:22 pm
Wise mother. I love this story.
June 10th, 2019 at 1:56 pm
Thanks!
June 10th, 2019 at 11:29 pm
True, grandma had a past, but she had decided to show her grandchildren her present and built on it. All of us have a past. Can’t dwell on it forever.
June 11th, 2019 at 8:17 am
This is brilliant. What a wise last line. And a lucky thing that the mother is there to set things right. Children are never told the secret stories. Finding out after everyone is gone can be bitter.
June 11th, 2019 at 8:34 pm
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it. Yeah, it’s hard to know how much to tell children. Grandma probably made the best choice.
June 11th, 2019 at 12:34 pm
A wonderful fable.
June 11th, 2019 at 7:37 pm
Thanks, Dawn. 🙂
June 21st, 2019 at 11:41 am
Great story. Best to see and love the person before us, not the person they used to be.