17

She was sitting at the restaurant with her little daughter. Pages in her notebook were filled with elegant giraffes and majestic palm trees, as the little girl spun endless narratives to captivate her mother’s attention. The mum feigned attention while observing the old gentleman seated close to them, his advanced age suggested he might be in his nonagenarian years.

“What is this on your arm?” Her daughter's sudden question startled her, realizing the child had engaged the very same man at the neighboring table. "She must have caught me gazing at him," she thought. The little girl giggled, "I, too, have one on my hand—a blue elephant, the same colour as yours."

The old man looked at her and asked, “ Did you choose to put that elephant in your hand? “yes!” Proudly, the little girl responded.

"Well, I had no choice when mine was indelibly etched on my arm many years ago," he revealed, evoking a pensive smile. "Let’s see!! I must have been slightly older than you back then. It was during that time when my name was replaced by a series of digits, and I was summoned only by those numbers." his voice became tender when he said that. "My twin brother, too, bore the identical tattoo, you know, but different numbers of course. We were inseparable before we got those tattoos during our early years with our parents."

“ why is he not here with you, I want to see his tattoo as well,” the little girl curiously asked.

“ Oh, I have not seen him since we were very little, right after we had those tattoos we were separated.” the old man replied quietly. His voice had an unmistakable nostalgic tone. “But you know what? Every time I see someone like you, with colorful and more beautiful tattoos than mine, I am immediately reminded of him.” the man answered with a gentle smile on his face.

The little girl looked at him intently, her eyes reflected a deep sense of childish understanding, while tears welled in her mum's eyes. "I hope you find your brother someday," she said softly. “ Can you take it off? Perhaps you might wish to put on a new more colourful tattoo? A giraffe, perhaps?" she added as she diligently grabbed her little pink bag and got out a pile of several tattoos of animals, roses, and babies.

The old man started to get up and gather his things when he looked at her and said “My dear one, this tattoo cannot be removed."

Then, he turned his face toward her mum and added, "Tell your children about our story. Enlighten them about our plight and let them know how we got those numbers.” Then he gradually faded into the bustling crowd as he walked out of the restaurant.