THE MOMENT
"Happy birthday to me...," Rebecca giggled at the thought as she walked into the tattoo parlor. She'd decided to end her private celebration with a permanent reminder of the milestone that was her 30th birthday. It was still early evening, and she was heading home after spending the day treating herself like a queen. She was the only one that could; Rebecca didn't have a lot of friends, and none were closer than acquaintances.
She only ever felt lonely if she thought about the fact that she didn't have a B.F.F. to hang out with. Fortunately, she didn't have much time to think about it often. All her life, she'd felt like something of a curiosity to mythological or fae beings. And, the strangest part was that she never felt any malice.
For a time, banshees would serenade her from outside the window every night with the most hauntingly beautiful voices she'd ever heard and not a trace of sinister intention ever bothered her. Selkies purposefully tried to gift their skins, and as far as she was concerned, it truly felt like the woods near her home were infested with unicorns. She grew up around the unusual circumstances and never thought to give it much thought. She never imagined she'd discover the reason on her 30th birthday, nor that the knowledge came from a tattoo.
"Hey Wel-," A heavyset tattooed man with a beard peeked out from behind a divider, and her froze for a moment as soon as he saw her. Neither of them had ever met before, but they each immediately understood something about the other. "Welcome," he finished his thought with a broad smile and Rebecca was instantly at ease.
He was a werewolf. She was 100% sure about that, yet she had no evidence, nor any idea where the thought came from. He was a fae creature, and he obviously recognized something about her; whatever it was the others could see.
"Name's Brewster," He grinned and offered her a handshake over the counter. "What can I do for you?"
"I want a tattoo," Rebecca nodded as she pointed at her slender wrist. "I don't think it would be very large, do you have time now?" she asked.
"Absolutely," he nodded. "Come on back to the back," he started to walk away from the front counter, but paused. "Oh wait, you know what you want, or did you want to take a look?" he pointed at the catalogs of flash art on a table beside the wall.
"I want the Earth?" she presented her request as a question because it was the first time she'd even considered the question, and the answer seemed to be waiting for her.
"You don't sound very sure...," Brewster nodded at the reclining chair, but he wasn't going to start anything unless she was clear about what she wanted.
"I want the Earth!" she repeated it with a firm nod, and an uneasy chuckle. "Sorry, I'm a bit nervous around needles," she added.
"You're making it really difficult to want to take your money...," Brewster laughed at her and she did too. "You're not going to freak out are you?"
"No, I promise I won't," she nodded. "It's my 30th birthday, and I want to remember it forever. It's a big step, all downhill from here," she sighed.
"Alright," he took his time making preparations to appraise her and she seemed calm and determined. She flinched and shut her eyes when he grabbed her wrist. She heard him chuckle, then felt pressure on her wrist. Except, it didn't hurt. Was she scared of nothing?
"How's that?" Brewster asked suddenly. It'd only been maybe two or three minutes. He couldn't be done yet, could he?
"Oh, it's good," Rebecca nodded to hide her disappointed expression. Not only was he not done, he hadn't even started yet. She felt him draw a draft of the globe on her wrist. "It needs numbers...," she said suddenly. For some reason, she thought her age would look fantastic. A big '30' right under the Earth would give it a nice touch.
"Yeah, I think you're right," Brewster nodded. Looking at the design he'd drawn up, it did look like it was missing something, and 'numbers' seemed to be the answer. They both agreed with different ideas in mind and Brewster got himself ready.
"Okay, here we go for real," he said. Rebecca jumped in her seat when the needle started buzzing after a heavy click. Then, he grabbed her wrist. She gritted her teeth, and shut her eyes as the pain started burning.
An eternity passed and the blinding pain grew dull. It was still present, but she'd made peace with the sensation in the darkness. She kept her eyes closed throughout the whole thing and finally, the buzzing ended with another click. Then, something happened.
Rebecca realized that something had started happening at some point; but, it wasn't until that final click that everything seemed to line up. In an instant, she knew everything.
Not only was Brewster a werewolf. He was also a father to three children, and he ran a little league sports team for Fae kids. And right now, he was wondering if Rebecca was okay, because she seemed to be sweating a lot.
"I'm fine," Rebecca said as she opened her eyes. Brewster relaxed. Not visibly, but she could feel how much more at ease his mind was when she replied.
"I guess it's funny how things work out," she smiled at him as she stood up from the seat. She hadn't even glanced at his work yet, but she dug into her purse and pulled out several large bills for him. "The rest is a tip," she added as she handed him over $500.
"Are you okay?" He asked, and she could sense his concern. He was sincerely worried that she might be going through some sort of a breakdown.
"I am, and, it's because of you," she said. She brought up her wrist with a broad grin to show him the tattoo he'd given her. "Today's my 30th birthday," she reminded him as she pointed at the numbers. "So, why'd you put 37?" She hadn't looked at it until that moment, but she knew that it it wasn't a '37', then she wouldn't know all the things she now knew.
"I'm sorry...," he shook his head. "I really don't know. You said it would look good with numbers.... and I guess I thought 37 would look good for some reason. I think can fix it..," he added as he looked at the design.
"Don't need to," she shook her head. "It actually helped me a lot."
"Helped? How?" he asked.
"You," she pointed at him. "Don't panic, but I know you're a werewolf," she said. he looked surprised, but shrugged and nodded.
"My whole life I've had myths and Fae trying to befriend me. I saw you go through it too. The first time you saw me, something went through your head, didn't it?"
"Something," he nodded. "Not really a thought, just a feeling. I felt like you were someone I really wanted to help."
"And you did," she grinned. "The tattoo... well, the number 37, is what I needed to kind of 'awaken' me. Now, I know who I am and why I attract so much attention."
"The tattoo did that?" Brewster chuckled. "So, what's the secret? What'd you learn?"
"Well. It turns out that I'm the spirit of the Earth, incarnated," she giggled. "Isn't that wild?"