Gemotions

The coffee shop buzzed with chatter, a dull roar that seemed to amplify the silence in my own head. I was meeting the person who commissioned the tattoo – a young woman with vibrant blue hair and a nervous smile. The tattoo, my abstract composition "Kaleidoscope," was a riot of color on her forearm.

I had been prepared to be upset, to question, to demand. Instead, a wave of... nothing... rolled over me. I found myself simply nodding as she spoke, listening to her explain the meaning she found in the piece, how it resonated with her, how it had brought her comfort during a difficult time. My hands remained clasped in my lap, unmoving. A smile, small and fragile, played at the corners of my lips.