galateah-is-dancing

It was inked onto her wrist twelve days after birth. More a nuisance to have to do it than a pleasure. She was so young the tattooist had to use a fairly potent sedative to put the infant girl to sleep, even though the procedure itself now took less than thirty seconds. The tattooist was well practiced. There had been six others before this girl, and all of them were required to bear the cattle-brand mark on their wrists. This time the tattooist worked even quicker than before, the needle whirring and piercing, sliding in and out of the tiny child's skin. There was an unbelievably high risk of infection, something that the tattooist still wa