yes, i want to make my nose red, i said as the rest of the tattooing continues around my body.

i'm lying on my back with my legs straddled, the full body tattooing process in the way. my family members circle around me - namely my brother and my father - clicking their tongues in disapproval, but i go ahead anyways. why should i seek their approval? it's my body, after all.

the tattoo artist is tamara nowakowsky from queen enterprises. she has her head down, busy working on the part of left leg. but finally, she is done, and i am able to stand up to observe.

maybe i shouldn't have gotten my face tattooed, i mumble as i look in the mirror. i look like a clown, i moan tragically.

sachi tries to clean around my face.

wait, wait, she says as she brushes me with her feather duster. don't move around so much. i have to get that spot around your eyes.

i don't like the face part, sachi, i say to her. do you think they can remove it?

why, oh why didn't i ask to see tamara's portfolio? i would have chosen someone else.

i walk back to the tattoo store. does brian work here anymore? i ask the person behind the counter. he looks me up and down.

brian does work from his own home now, he says before looking back down at his magazine.

damn, damn DAMN! i thought to myself. NOW what am i going to do?

no matter where i looked, there was water everywhere.

the rocking sensations created by ten-foot waves made me feel like i was on a roller coast ... a roller coaster without a safety bar. the thrill was exhilarating but so was the fear. what if i am thrown overboard? my inherent fear of the deep blue sea resurfaced in such a rush, i felt almost nauseous. wind and raindrops on my face, i gripped onto the sidebar of the tiny sailboat so tightly, the arterial veins of my knuckles became almost as white as snow.

just hang in there, i mutter to myself.

i wish there was somebody here to help! looking around the impossibly stormy seascape, i forced the panic out of my mind and focused.

focused on the thoughts of my own comfortable bed...
focused on snuggling under my bedcovers.

wake up, jeanie, wake up!

with a startle, i realised i'm awake...and i'm still swaying.

the whole house is swaying!
what a storm that is!

the creaking sideposts makes me wonder, somewhat sleepily, what would happen if something gave.

a few moments of swaying after, the winds seems to die down. and the house settles back onto its foundation, done for the night.

what a night!

kittens and tuna

it started with one little meow, originating from the corner. it was soft, but woke me up anyways. slightly groggy, i looked, but couldn't locate its origin. it sounded like it was searching for something, somewhere, the meowing interjected with sounds of scratching, like a nose inching its way along the corner where the wall meets the floor. i fumble around for the light, but couldn't find it. in the meantime, the scratching sound has stopped - the meowing continues intermittently - amidst my attempts to illuminate the darkness. it sounds like a few kittens, no longer one.

is that something wet i feel on my toe? i peer down and feel a wave fall over the top of my calves. a wave? the juxtaposition of the cold wetness versus bedcover-warmth startle me out of sleep. is that the sound of waves? do i smell the ocean? the meowing disappears amidst the lapping of the waves. i clutch at my bedcovers in an absurd attempt to keep dry.

something dark passes under my bed, which is floating in an ocean of water in a seemingly normal fashion. i should be perplexed but am considering instead in a oddly calm way that the shape has something important to say. a splash occurs in the distance; i look up and see that the shape has emerged its head above water in the form of a tuna fish. or what i think is a tuna fish. after all, i have never seen a tuna fish before. nor have i ever spoken to one, with the exception of this night.

good morning says the tuna to me.

guten morgen i mumble back. it seems natural that i should respond in german.

close your eyes says the tuna as he jumps back into the water with a splash.

i cover my face instinctively ... and wake up to a mouthful of bedcover.