pray on God, but steer away from the rocks.

it's his birthday and he had a party in the huge garden. who's garden is this? perhaps it belongs to his grandparents, or uncle or some other distant relative. perhaps it is just a random garden we made a party at. that would maybe be more likely. it's an amazing garden, a maze of windy paths nestled in a valley and stretching up the slopes. there are large autumn coloured trees and thick undergrowth below. wildflowers. it's the day after and i come to and refocus. take in the surroundings. the blank spot in my mind that should be memories of the night before. the pain on my lower back. what is this pain? we eat leftover custard pudding and find i am newly inked. there is a fresh tattoo on my lower back. a sentence that starts on one hip and stretches all the way across my back to the other. the writing is large and spiky. it's messy. no one can read it. does it make sense? is that word spelled wrong? is it even a word? it is a word. a sentence. yet i still can't read it. i can't yet focus my eyes or my mind. the mystery deepens. when did i get this? where how why who. we are all stuck halfway between horror and amusement. we drive around in a golf cart trying to piece together this puzzle. my back still hurts. i wonder if it is indeed real or just permanent marker. i see if i can rub it off but it seems to scab up. i leave it so that if it turns out it is real i won't pull off the scab and make it look messy. i need to find some cream for this. we find the birthday boy. he is wearing a baseball cap and eating trifle. there is a lot of leftover pudding and cold sausages around. if only there were water, i'm so thirsty. he is impressed by my new addition and proud that someone got so messed up at his party they got a tattoo they don't even understand without realising it. i try and feel regret because it is what everyone expects and yet i can't help but smile when I twist around to look in a mirror because i have a new tattoo and i think it looks pretty cool. i realise when i look at the mirror image of the tattoo, i can read the words. they say...