I’m not sure if it was my Light that pushed me into his arms or if I got there by myself, but it doesn’t matter anyway. Now that I’m back in Ayden’s arms, standing a few steps away from our table, everything’s perfect again. He hugs me tightly before greeting Nadja. When he wants to continue holding my hand, I look at his tattooed arm and back up to his eyes. “I think I’ve got it under control,” he states. While everyone else tries to gather some chairs around our table, Ayden sits down on mine and makes me sit down on his lap. “I should be more worried about you, the closeness probably makes your Light go wild.”

“Her Light is not the only thing that goes wild when you’re around,” Nadja mumbles, gaining laughter from a few of the others. The group is much smaller than the days before. I quietly assure him that, even though I can feel the Light rushing around and trying to get out, it’s bearable. With a slight smile, he wraps his arm around my waist and lets the tattoos glow faintly. Immediately, my Light calms down as if it just needed some kind of reassurance.

As expected, the conversation soon revolves around Nadja and me being Bearers of Light. Nadja excitedly states that she wants to get one of those mandala tattoos as soon as possible. Even though the others warn her that she’ll see nothing special about it until the Day of Light, Nadja repeats her wish. She always wanted a tattoo but nothing simple like mine. Ayden gives me a questioning look while everyone else tells Nadja more about the tattoos. I know he wants to ask if I’m ready to get one as well but instead of saying anything, I start tracing the tattoos on his arm.

***

Because Nadja’s still so sure of her decision an hour later, the others lead us to a tattoo artist. He’s a Bearer of Light as well and he’s one of the very few people who know how to do those mandalas correctly. While he shows Nadja some examples, Ayden pulls me aside to talk about this, “I want you to know that I still want to be with you even if you don’t get one of these tattoos.” Although I feel that it’s getting almost impossible, I try to hold back my smile at his words. He’s so caring. How do I deserve a boyfriend like him?

“Even if I agree to get one now, I never thought about where I’d want another tattoo. What pattern should I get?”

Ayden smiles a bit, probably having noticed that I wouldn’t ask these questions if I didn’t want a tattoo, “Well, normally couples get the same tattoos so you could just choose one of mine. Maybe pick one of those on my upper arm because they’re easier to hide.” He pulls his right sleeve away so I can get a better look and lets them light up a bit.

When the tattoo artist announces that Nadja’s tattoo is done, I walk over to her to have a look at it. Of course, it looks great and she loves it. Now, all eyes are on me and I pull Ayden closer. “This one, please,” I tell the tattoo artist while pointing at one of Ayden’s tattoos. The others start cheering and Ayden kisses my cheek. 

The tattoo artist sees Ayden light up for a moment, smiles happily at us and motions me to sit down before saying, “Ayden, you know what that means for you.” My boyfriend nods before apologising to me. The worried look on my face probably shows the tattoo artist that I’m new to all of this, “If your Light gets active while I’m still working, it won’t work. That’s why we need him to leave the building.”

After Ayden texted his friends that he’s now outside, we have a big enough safety distance to start. The others ask me to retell the story of how we met, mostly to get me distracted but also because some of the people here only know me from the stories of the others. Getting this tattoo doesn’t feel much different than my other tattoo, it’s just a bit bigger and more detailed. Nadja admires her new tattoo before sitting down on a chair next to me and watching the process. Having the others around is great but without her, I’d be a nervous wreck.

Once the tattoo is done, everyone tells me how good it looks and that Ayden’s going to love it. The tattoo artist gives me a few instructions, telling me that my Light is going to heal everything as soon as I light up again. Sadly, Nadja has to wait until it heals by itself. The others offer to buy us ice cream before sending us back to the hotel to get ready for the evening. Everyone’s excited to see me light up for the first time. Normally, that would make me nervous and worried but I know that I’m a member of their community now and that I can be myself around them. This Light is a part of me so why shouldn’t I show it?