Needle

I saw a girl come in the emergency department with spectacular tattoos.

Full sleeve both arms and up to her neck, even piercings on every piece of facial cartilage.

But when we told her we’d need a drop of blood for tests, she broke down into tears.

She was scared of needles.

But amidst the crushing irony I could believe that..

To her, a needle in a parlour represented beauty, whereas in hospital her mortality.

At least, this helped me feel less judgemental about it.