Her heartbeat quickened as she approached the entrance. Her mind raced with doubts yet her body moved forward. Wild thoughts zipped through her mind as to what kind of place she was walking into….a dark dungeon, seedy, dirty in her mind’s eye…definitely not the kind of place she would normally frequent. The lure, though, was her curiosity about the art of tatooing – the people, the artistry, the reason why people repeatedly punish their bodies with reverberating needles; why they would want their bodies forever marked in this way. She was on an assignment, but she was personally curious as well.

One last deep breath for courage and then she turned the knob. When she pushed the door open, she was surprised to see a stark, clean waiting area – much like what one would find in a doctor’s office. Though this didn’t confirm the mental picture she had already drawn, she still was reserved about the whole process. A young blonde receptionist asked if she could help her and she stammered through her introduction and said she’d like to find out more about getting a tatoo. After filling out the necessary paperwork, the blonde showed her to another room where she could look at some designs. Again, she was astounded by the artistic quality and variety of designs. Still unsure as to whether or not she was actually going to go through with getting a tatoo, she selected a small butterfly and asked to talk to the tatooist. She was then led into the back room. It was a large area divided into four open-spaced cubicles brightly lit and clean – not at all what she had pictured. All but one area was occupied with customers in various stages of completion. The instruments hummed and buzzed as the artists created their masterpieces. Not one of the patrons was uttering a sound, so she figured her assumption that it was painful must also false.

She was approached by a large man with multiple tatoos.