Crystal Zdunich vs. Willow Aspen

[Konrad Raab]

2 RP Limit for singles

3500 word max per RP

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET FRIDAY, February 24, 2023 *NOTE DEADLINE – Show will also take place Friday night and we will return to our usual schedule with some minor adjustments next week!*

[WillowAsp]

THE STRANGER


I was five when I first met The Stranger. 


My mother had taken me into town for a day trip. It was rare that we ever left home… I was always told the world wasn’t safe. There were people in it that would use and abuse you to satisfy their own sick, twisted, or self-serving desires and then, when it was all said and done, toss you aside like a piece of garbage they didn’t even care to properly dispose of. So being able to step foot into the city, with all its bright lights and careless activity, was a feast for the senses. So much to see. So much to do. Smells I’d only ever smell away from shelter. It was exotic. 


And that’s when I met him. 


He didn’t introduce himself by name, although mother clearly knew who he was. He made small talk with her briefly before turning his attention to me. 


“Good morning,” were the first words he said. Something about his presence appeared to be calming and warm. He wasn’t like the strangers I was told about. He was somehow different. “I’m a friend of your mother’s. What’s your name?”


I didn’t answer, not immediately. I was always taught to be reserved… to protect myself. I was told I had a glorious purpose. Of course, in the years that followed, I learned that my “purpose” was not exactly glorious, but that is its own tale for another day. He sensed my apprehension and smiled.


“Your mother taught you well,” he said as he looked over at her. She had her hands clenched on her shopping bags, wrapping one over the knuckles of the other. I had never seen her so nervous… Perhaps this was the reason why we didn’t leave home all that often? He took his attention away from me and turned them back to mother, and my eyes didn’t leave her. And it was probably for the best, because the stranger upset her greatly and she took me by the wrist, pulling me away. He smiled as he waved in our direction… “Until next time.”


I didn’t know what he meant, or when “next time” would come. The entire meeting was all of 30 seconds, but it left an indelible impact on my mind. It was, after all, my first memory. 


—


“Crystal, if we’re being honest… and I take great pride in being honest… I was surprised to see you show up at Body, Heart, and Soul. I figured you would have been too busy elsewhere to bother to show up in Nashville. On one hand, that is something I can admire… even respect. But it isn’t enough to save you from your judgement. After all, that was really what it was about, isn’t it? You were left questioning why I dared attack you and Vespertine prior to your scheduled contest and decided to take up my challenge for what? For answers? You really wanted to know why I decided to make an example out of you?


It’s because I don’t respect you. 


I have seen people like you bandy about, do what you can wherever you can do it, expressing that your own brand is more important than loyalty to a specific promotion. Why, even Friday, the night you’re scheduled to face me in Oklahoma, you’re also scheduled for a match in Las Vegas, aren’t you? How am I supposed to respect you when you jeopardise yourself and, truly, my opportunity in such a reckless manner?


But no… this isn’t about your contracts around the wrestling world. I’ve simply seen nothing that has ever inspired respect for you. See, I hold respect very close to my heart because, at the end of the day, that’s the last thing we have ourselves, but like love I don’t give it away freely. Respect is something that must be earned. Friday night in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, I show you just how I treat people I don’t respect: With no relent and no mercy. You’re in for a world of hurt, Crystal. Consider this your sentence.”