As Jack pushed open the door to Dex’s shop, his skin prickled with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. Dex indicated the sterile chair where countless people had chosen to either express or erase their stories. Owner of easily the best Brisbane tattoo shop for tourists, Dex knew a thing or two about tattoos.
“We’re almost halfway through, mate,” Dex said, preparing the laser. He had no idea that with each session, Jack wasn’t just removing a tattoo; he was unveiling a past life full of paradoxes and possibilities.
The laser started with its familiar hum, and Jack braced himself for another journey. This time, he was a soldier in a futuristic war, zipping through timelines like a comet. The faces of friends and foes from epochs unseen in the present rushed back to him. He could taste the strange foods, hear the cacophony of alien markets, feel the adrenaline of imminent danger.
As the vision subsided, Jack opened his eyes to find himself back in Dex’s parlour, the smell of antiseptic and the faint whirr of machines responsible for the most reliable tattoo removal close to Brisbane bringing him back to reality. The partial imprint of the mysterious tattoo reflected in the mirror, now looking more like a cryptogram than ever. His past self had encrypted the message well.
Back home, Jack spent hours pouring over the remaining tattoo, sketching it out and turning it over like a 3D puzzle. It was a map of sorts, a trail to his forgotten memories. He cross-referenced it with historical and futuristic events, working into the night to unlock the secret his past self had entrusted him with. The more he uncovered, the more he remembered.
With each day, the cryptic tattoo became less of a burden and more of a key, a window into a life he had led but forgotten. The laser sessions continued, the tattoo faded, but the message etched in Jack’s mind became clearer.
Yet, as the gaps in his memory filled, a chilling question haunted him: why did he erase his memory in the first place? As his past adventures began to line up, Jack couldn’t shake off a growing sense of dread. What was he about to remember?