THE FIRST DOOR [vs Smiley]

[There is darkness all around, pierced by a solitary spotlight, unwavering in its focus on a figure sat cross legged in the centre of a wrestling ring. The look on his face is a mix of satisfaction and confusion.]

“I felt drawn to this place. It’s apt, I think, that I find OSW just as they celebrate their own Genesis, and I start my transition between lives. My old life was boring. There was a constant cycle, a dissonance between my vision and the reality of everyday life. It was mundane, and it was endless. Each morning became my working day, became my evening, became my night, became the next day. There was no start and no end and I couldn’t see a future.”

[He pulls down one boot, flashing a glimpse of gold.]

“Until now. This Anklet came into my life for a reason, even if I don’t know it yet. Suddenly, I feel like every door has opened and there are infinite possibilities. But there is something blocking my way. I see someone, smiling, mocking me, swirling a set of keys around the end of a single finger and threatening to lock the most important door of all, the one that leads me to that ring.”

[The figure returns the boot to it’s position and stands up now. The spotlight remains focused on his face.]

“I think we’re alike, in some ways. I can see, Smiley, that you have a disdain, like I do, for your past. I understate. I’ve seen your interview from last year, the poor girl you frightened to death. You hold more than disdain. I’ve never seen anything like it. But it’s there.

And we both let an object lead us…”

[His eyes shift to his ankle for just one brief second.]

“You call it fate – maybe it is. You let Junior control your actions - or at least you blame your choices on him as pitiful self-absolution - and I let this Anklet control mine. Is the Anklet my Junior? Should I give him a name?”

[As he asks this question the man moves to the ropes, now staring straight down the camera.]

“When I saw that inscription, that two-faced insignia, it opened my eyes, Smiley. I lived in the present and it meant nothing. I lived in the here and now and it was a constant disappointment. Now I look for new beginnings, for closures, for gateways to other places, feelings, people and planes. I look because they are my future. I look because they are your future. I look because they are everyone’s future. I have no doubt that I’m not fully in control but then I don’t need to be. I can feel the right path with this Anklet on me. You can say I’m cuffed as often as you please but it doesn’t make it so. You were closer when you called it a key.

You think that I’d smile if I saw freedom. It’s cute. I am experiencing true freedom every day. I can feel all the possibilities and it is exhilarating. There is only one possibility that I can think of this week, Smiley, and it makes me want to do something more than just smile. I see me with my hand held up in the air and you down on that canvas, and I want to LAUGH, Smiley.”

[The man holds a hand up.]

“All I want to see on Sunday is the door of opportunity close on you and wipe the smile from your face. By the time Ring King comes around, you’ll need introducing as Frowny.”

[As he brings his hand down, the lights fade out, until there is nothing but darkness.]