Post by chris on Apr 27, 2017 22:13:31 GMT
“Follow me!” Chris Andrew, overenthusiastic as usual, grabbed his friend’s hand, giving her no choice but to follow him as they run down the streets of Chicago. Cheesecake on the other hand doesn’t seem to be sharing the same thrill, lazily trotting behind him to the point that he almost had to drag her. The green haired girl looked tired, and with good reasons. She just landed earlier that morning from a day long transoceanic flight straight from Melbourne, and if that wasn’t enough, they wrestled in a tag team match a Seattle Pro’s Sloth event. To be fair, that match could be considered the reason why she was there, the lure he used to convince her to afford the expensive trip. Or maybe, just a small incentive for her to spend some time with one of the few persons that, no matter what, never turned his back on her.
In front of them, on the shore of Lake Michigan in the northeast tip of Northerly Island was standing the Adler Planetarium, obviously closed to the public at this time of the night. Chris stopped a few steps away from the stairs leading to the entrance. “Here we are, this is my favorite place in all Chicago.” He said with a big smile on his face turning toward her. His hand was still holding her wrist, but he didn’t look like he noticed it.
“This is what you wanted to show me so desperately?” an unenthused Ophelia inspected the building with a raised eyebrow. “It looks like it’s seen better days.” Her gaze met his as she pulled her arm away, giving it a firm rub where he’d grabbed her. He’d been pulling her along rather hard, it was sure to leave a bruise. “What’s so great about this place, anyway? Doesn’t look so special to me.”
“Oh, shut up and come with me!” He started walking around the building, reaching its back and sitting on the grass. The sight from that point was breathtaking. The calm, dark waters of the lake in front of them, the Chicago Skyline on the horizon. And a sky full of stars as a roof. Chris raised his eyes, smiling like a child. “Come over here and tell me this ain’t beautiful!” He fell back, resting on the small hillock, staring at those shining lights lighting up the night.
Ophelia huffed as she made her way over to him, convinced that nothing he could say or show her would change her perception of this place being a total dump. However, when she took her place by his side and took in the wondrous view, she felt a strange sense of peace. “Whoa, that’s… actually not so bad to look at,” she softly admitted, in a way that still projected her general distaste for anything and everything.
Chris smiled at her. He knew he couldn’t expect much more from her in terms of appreciation. But just her being there could have been considered a win in his book. “You know, there was this woman back in Scottsdale… She used to tell me that our destiny is written in the stars. Can you believe it?”
“Destiny?” Ophelia reacted, scrunching up her nose. “Do you really think that junk is real?”
“To be honest? Not really… But… You know, sometimes things seem to happen for a reason. It can’t be all random, don’t you think?”
“It's just a bunch of shit that happens.” she shrugged. “Even if it ain't random, I don't think it's worth thinking about.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” His voice was slightly melancholy. But a quick glance at her immediately brought a smile back on his face. “Anyway, she knew all these cool stories about constellations. Do you see the one up here?” His finger was pointing to a certain portion of the sky, drawing a zig-zag line connecting a small group of stars. “That’s Cassiopeia, she was a Queen. A bit of a bitch if you ask me. And there, on the left, that was his husband, Cepheus. So Cass claimed to be more beautiful than those… I can’t remember the name, but they were the daughters of the Sea God. Dude must have had some sort of anger issue, because he sent this huge sea monster to destroy their kingdom, killing all their subjects and shit. And do you know how they stopped it?”
She looked at him, clueless, confused. But for some reasons, intrigued.
“She talked to the Oracle, who told her that the only way to make it up with the God for this outrage was to sacrifice her daughter, Andromeda.” He pointed at another bunch of stars, on the right from Cassiopeia. “Now think about this poor girl. She really didn’t do shit, and yet she found herself tied on a rock in the middle of the sea, waiting to get killed by a freaking monster. And just when all hope was gone, the monster dies, killed by Perseus. Now you can’t see him, but his constellation is right there, next to Andromeda.”
Chris tilted his head, looking at Ophelia.
“How the hell do you know all this?” She asked, gazing up at the stars. She'd never known anyone to be so interested in constellations, nor had she paid much attention to them herself. “Is this stuff you, like… had to study?”
“Well, there was a time when I didn’t have much to do, other than watch the sky…” A light sigh escaped his lips, followed by a rare moment of silence in which a shade of sadness seemed to cloud his usually happy-go-lucky expression. A few seconds, barely enough for her to notice it, before cleaning his mind from whatever thought crossed it. “So yeah… I kinda read a book or two about those greek myths. Some good shit actually. Among all those monsters, gods, heroes and crazy stuff, there were some deep meanings. Like this Andromeda chick… I don’t know if she believed in fate or not, but there she was, hopeless, victim of a destiny someone else wrote for her. And it sucked, I mean… She was a princess you know? Destined to rule over that land, marry some king and live happily ever after, and instead, she was about to get eaten by this creature. She never saw Perseus coming, dude was a professional hero, he had this invisibility helm he got from Hades, so he sneaked behind the monster, slew it and saved the girl.” She turned to him, finally starting to get what he was meaning with this story. Their eyes locked. “Sometimes, no matter how shitty a situation seems to be, no matter how lost and desperate you feel, a helping hand, a way out is right there, next to you. Even if you can’t see it.”
“I spent a lot of time on my own,” she revealed as she turned her attention to the stars above again. “Being around people who actually care? That's weird to me. As geeky as all this star junk is, I kinda wish I had it when I was young. Mighta given me something to believe in, ya know?”
“It’s not too late to start believing.” He smiled back at her. “Stop talking like you are a 70 years old granny… You have been through a lot, you had to grow up fast and alone. It was the same for me, at least until a couple of years ago. Then Perseus came from out of nowhere, and here I am now. A different man from who I was, and who I thought I would have been.”
Ophelia didn’t reply. She turned her head looking at Chris. “One day you will find yours Greenie.” This time it was Chris taking his eyes off hers, staring back at the sky. “Or maybe it’s already there. And you just didn’t realize yet.”
It’s such a breathtaking sight from where Chris Andrew is sitting, in the heart of Parque Miradora Indipendencia, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Even at night. But he’s not admiring the panoramic view.
Sitting on the stone stairs, his elbows leaning on a higher step with his head bent back, he is caught star-gazing, observing those fixed, luminous distant points shining bright in the clean night sky. He looks absorbed in his thoughts, wistful, Far from the always smiling guy the Phoenix Wrestling fans got used to know.
“If you asked me one year ago, I would have told you that there’s no such thing as destiny, that we write our own story, with every decision we take. But.... Is it true though? I mean, everyday we face things we can’t predict, nor control. Good things as well as bad stuff, almost as if something, someone, has fun seeing how we react in certain situations. As if we are set to walk on a determined path with just a few crossroads where we are allowed to change our course.
Moving down another trail, until the next fork.
It happens, now and then, that our path intersects with someone else’s. That’s what happened to me and Faith.
Think about it. I wasn’t able to make many friends in the PW locker room, which is actually surprising considering I am such a cool and fun guy. Aside from Elena, and maybe Finn, there are not many people who came and gave me advices, or a word of encouragement. And, mind you, I’m not saying they are all bad folks, far from it. It’s just… I never saw myself finding a tag partner I could count on and trust enough to try get the the vacant DUOS title.
And obviously, I was like at the last spot in everyone’s list, I mean, who would want to tag with a rookie and, eventually, having to carry his sorry asst throughout every match?
Nonetheless, I was paired up with Rowyn Starr, and we did pretty good until he got crushed by Mason.
Then… Well that’s recent history, I’m sure you all remember me convincing Faith that we could get the job done, the two of us coming up victorious back at Awakening when almost nobody gave us a chance… And me choking when it mattered the most, letting my partner down and failing to capture the gold. Of course, it wasn’t entirely my fault, the Collective got involved and I fell for their trap. Shame on me, I take the blame for being so gullible.”
He shakes his head, still unable to get over the fact that he threw away the biggest chance of his career committing such a rookie mistake. And who cares if he, technically, is still a rookie. He should have known better…
“But here we are, a chance to redeem myself, to right a wrong, another shot at gold. And this time, i am ready.
We are ready.
Maybe we are not as well-oiled as Aurora and Masaru are, or half as… Let’s say resourceful in a shady way as Tony and Forklift are. But we worked hard in Detroit, watching tapes, training in the ring, discussing strategy and getting to know each other a little more. We are no longer two people wrestling, we are finally a tag team, even without a fancy and cool name like Hell Is Awaiting or The Collective.
Experience, teamwork… Everything seems to be in the champions’ favor, with me and Faith being the underdogs. Nothing new for me. I have been the underdog all my life, we can say it’s my destiny. I am the kid who was never supposed to make it in life, let alone becoming a successful wrestler.
Two addicts as parents, growing up in a foster home, running away from that place… All the premises for a tragic life. And yet, here I am, happy, with a beautiful girlfriend, amazing friends, and the chance to become PW Duos Champion.”
Finally a smile. He leans his head forward, looking now straight in the camera.
“It’s not going to be easy of course, but that’s the thing with the most beautiful things in life. They never come for free.
I already spent my fair share of blood, sweat and tears in this company to get where I am today. And more will come for sure, I mean, there will be table, ladders and chairs, this can’t end well for anyone involved, don’t you think? I already know I will walk out of this match battered, bruised and broken, feeling the pain for days… But I will WALK out of it, on my legs, probably with a brand new piece of gold around my waist.
Whether it’s two, or three, or one thousand people, The Collective won’t stop us from taking those titles. They don’t belong here, I was actually surprised to see they were given this chance just because they had to stick their giant Italian noses in our business, ruining a main event. Why were they rewarded with a title shot? I can’t wrap my head around it, my best guess is they pulled some strings… Shady pricks!
As for Hell Is Awaiting… Your wait is over, and so is your reign. Faith was right, facing you two is something else. But I don’t think we did bad the first time and, believe me, a lot of things changed since the Supershow. I changed. I am more focused and determined, and I have to thank my tag partner for it. We know what to do now. And believe me when I say that all hell can’t stop now.”
Once again he leans back, watching the stars, closing his eyes and calming his breath, letting the tranquillity of that place soak through his skin.
“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.
This is one of Shakespeare’s most famous quotes and it’s taken from The Tempest.
Teenagers are convinced this is one of those sweet lines they can write on their lover’s diary… Or Facebook actually…
Self proclaimed lyric expert find it quite depressing, considering how ephemeral dreams and, by consequence, our lives are for the author.
I believe it’s both somehow. True, dreams only last a night, no matter how great or bad they are. But their memory, that’s something that stays. And so is our life, or the span of a wrestling career. Short or long, just make it something people can remember. Possibly in a good way.
We are such stuff as dreams are made on… And last night, my dreams are made of gold.”
With a sudden movement, he springs back on his feet, walking away in the warm Mexican night.