The Shelf of Corpses

I added a new corpse part to my shelf yesterday. That makes it three hundred now.

What's with the look, ? Do you not have a hobby?

Some people collect stamps, some collect coins, some collect relics.

I collect corpse parts.

I am still rather picky about them. I only take them if they come from a good person. I rarely take two from the same, but I am not above that if they look good.

Doesn't matter if they come from a man or a woman, old or young.

The only obligatory thing is that they are tatooed.

What? Did you really think I'd just put a corpse part without any ink whatsoever on my shelf? I might as well collect planks then.

Of course, there must be some artistic merit in those tatoos. I'll not even consider the corpse if the ink on it looks like an incomprehensible jumble of letters. It must be something I enjoy looking at. Something that tingles my imagination and pushes it forward.

Something nice.

Tending to the parts is not an easy thing to do: I must protect them from the bugs, the moisture, the fire. Dust them every now and then. But it's a good way to pass time, and at the end of the day, it's very rewarding.

One of the favourite parts I have is the one I dubbed "The Hand of Fatima". The inkwork there is so subtle, yet so beautiful.

But to be honest, one of the best things about them is the smell: the older parts often carry the fragrance most pleasing. Plenty of folks love it. Some just don't know. Some refuse to admit it.

Well, I rambled on long enough. I should got tend to my collection. Maybe I'll push it further than three hundred. Maybe up to a thousand.

You should try it too, friend.

Oh, take that shocked look of your face already! You look like a gormless ape.

Don't you know how relaxing it is to keep a private library and fill it with books?