Post by moira on Aug 15, 2007 8:45:32 GMT -6
The scene fades in on Gypsy, who is once again sitting in her favorite booth at her favorite restaurant. She had been sitting at the table for nearly an hour, and still couldn’t decide if she wanted the three meat omelet or the blueberry pancakes that tasted so much like her mother’s homemade ones. The teenage girl actually felt a little sick at the thought of her mother today. Yesterday, she had announced on national television something that her mother had asked her to take to the grave with her. And, today she was going to betray more of her mother’s secrets to the world. As soon as, the abnormally late, Greg Kilgreen arrived.
Gypsy pulled out her pink cellular telephone, and checked to see if she had missed any calls. She hadn’t. The thought that Greg was late, really late, on top of the fact that he hadn’t called, really had her worried. But, as she glanced out the window, she saw a familiar black Dodge Dart, with white racing stripes, pull into the parking lot. The dart was followed by a large white van, with the POW moniker painted onto the side of it.
She hadn’t expected her heart to plummet when she saw Greg get out of the Dart, but it did. She knew that the biggest statement of her life was about to be made on national television, and se knew that it was a betrayal. Jason Hammer, her father, had assured her. He had told her that it would be okay. But, she still wasn’t sure, and she prayed that it would be.
Greg Kilgreen walked into the building, followed by a camera crew, and all of Gypsy’s fears were forgotten the moment she noticed his arm in a sling. The young woman studied Kilgreen intensely for a few moments. The sling nearly hid the plaster cast that stretched from his elbow to the knuckles on his left arm. One of his eyes was swollen almost entirely shut, and his nose was bent at an odd angle. Greg even walked with a slight limp. The man, quiet simply, looked like hell.
Gypsy: Oh my god, Greg. What happened to you?
Concern was evident in the seventeen year olds voice. Greg Kilgreen was pleasantly surprised at this treatment.
Greg: I really don’t remember. Hell, I don’t even remember being in Miami yesterday, but I know I was.
Gypsy: Why were you in Miami?
Greg: Can’t remember.
Gypsy: Sorry, stupid question.
Greg: It’s okay. You said you had a big announcement for me?
Gypsy: Oh, yeah…
The young woman’s voice trailed off. She had nearly forgotten all about what she was going to tell Greg, but it had just slammed into her with the force of a brick wall. Her heart jumped into her throat the moment she tried to speak, and she suddenly felt like she was choking on it.
Gypsy: Well, I wanted to tell you about my mother.
The teenage girl’s mouth became hotter and dryer than the Sahara desert. Greg just nodded, understanding that the subject was sensitive to the young lady.
Gypsy: She was a full blooded Rom, a gypsy in Romani, and she was the most beautiful woman any man in the world had ever laid eyes on. Her hair felt like black velvet, and it flowed almost like it was a river of its own. Her eyes twinkled like stars in the night sky. Her smile could light up a room full of strangers, and she was as smart as any biochemist or therapist. And, like I said yesterday, she was as strong and as brave as any man in this wrestling federation. She was truly an inspiration to me, and I pray to god that I inherited just one-tenth of her strength.
Greg: She must really have been impressive. You said she was full blooded. Does that mean that you aren’t?
The interviewer’s voice was full of respect and the question was packed with curiosity. Gypsy nodded.
Gypsy: No, I’m not full blooded. My father is what the Rom calls a gaujo, an outsider. He was an American businessman, on a month long sabbatical in Romania, when he met my mother.
Greg: What was his name, and what does he look like?
Gypsy: His name is Jason Hammer.
Greg: Jason Hammer! The JASON HAMMER?!
Gypsy nodded at Greg’s sudden outburst.
Greg: The man who owns Hardcore Gym? The man who owns the world’s most successful gym franchise? The man who has only ever been beaten twice in his lifetime? The man who has been a world champion in eight other wrestling federations? The man who is undoubtedly the greatest wrestler of all time is your father?
Gypsy: It actually looks like you know my father better than I do, Greg. I only ever knew him as a kind, loving, caring father. I wish he could have spent longer than two weeks together at a time, though he did get to visit every three months. And, he would bring us over for the holidays. His visits to us and our trips to the States were some of the best times of my life.
Greg: But, why couldn’t you just stay with him as he traveled the states?
Gypsy: Because of Rom beliefs. One of the biggest things that we believe is Rom y Rom and gaujo y gaujo, which means gypsy with gypsy and outsider with outsider. Had my mother married my father than she would be forced to leave the clan, and would never have been accepted by any other clan of gypsies. But, the way I see it, that almost would have been better than what had happened.
Greg: What do you mean?
Gypsy: Now you do understand that most people and cultures don’t accept gypsies. Now imagine what it’s like when not only everybody else is against you, but most of your own people are too. Nearly the entire world was against us, just because my mother wanted to follow her heart. ‘What’s wrong with that?’ I would ask many of the people who shunned us. But, it never changed. It only got worse. My older sister was attacked by a gang of Rom boys from another clan when she was six. She managed to make it so that one of the boys would never be able to have children, but the others held her down while the leader held the blade of a hunting knife in a flame until it was red hot. Next, they pressed the tip of the blade into her eyes, nearly searing them out of their sockets. But, they weren’t finished. The boys kicked her until she awoke, and each time she did the knife that had claimed her eyesight slashed at her. The smell of blood a burning flesh was a very strong sensation. And, they did it all, just because she was the off spring of an outsider, and because they wanted to hear her scream…
Gypsy paused for a moment, trying to fight back tears.
Gypsy: Finally, they took turns raping her. Janna, my mum, sent her to live with Da. And he put her into therapy, and counseling, and everything else you could think of, but she was never the same again. And, to top things off, she disappeared the day after she graduated from high school. No one we know has seen her since then. After my little brother was born, mum sent him to live with Da. She hoped to protect him from what had happened to my sister.
Tears streamed from the young girls eyes. Greg Kilgreen’s mouth just hung open. After about five minutes of absolute silence, with the exception of Gypsy’s sad sobs, Greg found the strength within himself to ask another question.
Greg: Why didn’t your mother send you to live with Jason?
Gypsy: Because, out of the three of us, I was the only one that looked like a gypsy. And, that’s probably the only reason I didn’t go through the same torment my sister did. But, my family’s troubles didn’t end there. About a year ago my mother started getting sick. She fought it with every ounce of her will, but it just kept getting worse. Da, finally talked her into going to see an expert, instead of one of the shuvanis, a gypsy witch. The doctor diagnosed her with cervical cancer, and my father paid to bring in the finest doctors in the world. They all came to help my mother, but it was too late. All they could do was make her comfortable, and watch as the greatest killer in the world claimed another victim. And…it…did.
Gypsy burst into a second round of sobs, and tears poured from her eyes. Gypsy’s favorite waitress and best friend in the world came over to the table. Greg looked at her and caught sight of her name tag. Mary.
Mary: Mr. Kilgreen, I do believe this interview is over.
The scene fades to black as Mary shoos the camera crew away. The last glimpse before total darkness shows the waitress setting down to console the crying girl.
Gypsy pulled out her pink cellular telephone, and checked to see if she had missed any calls. She hadn’t. The thought that Greg was late, really late, on top of the fact that he hadn’t called, really had her worried. But, as she glanced out the window, she saw a familiar black Dodge Dart, with white racing stripes, pull into the parking lot. The dart was followed by a large white van, with the POW moniker painted onto the side of it.
She hadn’t expected her heart to plummet when she saw Greg get out of the Dart, but it did. She knew that the biggest statement of her life was about to be made on national television, and se knew that it was a betrayal. Jason Hammer, her father, had assured her. He had told her that it would be okay. But, she still wasn’t sure, and she prayed that it would be.
Greg Kilgreen walked into the building, followed by a camera crew, and all of Gypsy’s fears were forgotten the moment she noticed his arm in a sling. The young woman studied Kilgreen intensely for a few moments. The sling nearly hid the plaster cast that stretched from his elbow to the knuckles on his left arm. One of his eyes was swollen almost entirely shut, and his nose was bent at an odd angle. Greg even walked with a slight limp. The man, quiet simply, looked like hell.
Gypsy: Oh my god, Greg. What happened to you?
Concern was evident in the seventeen year olds voice. Greg Kilgreen was pleasantly surprised at this treatment.
Greg: I really don’t remember. Hell, I don’t even remember being in Miami yesterday, but I know I was.
Gypsy: Why were you in Miami?
Greg: Can’t remember.
Gypsy: Sorry, stupid question.
Greg: It’s okay. You said you had a big announcement for me?
Gypsy: Oh, yeah…
The young woman’s voice trailed off. She had nearly forgotten all about what she was going to tell Greg, but it had just slammed into her with the force of a brick wall. Her heart jumped into her throat the moment she tried to speak, and she suddenly felt like she was choking on it.
Gypsy: Well, I wanted to tell you about my mother.
The teenage girl’s mouth became hotter and dryer than the Sahara desert. Greg just nodded, understanding that the subject was sensitive to the young lady.
Gypsy: She was a full blooded Rom, a gypsy in Romani, and she was the most beautiful woman any man in the world had ever laid eyes on. Her hair felt like black velvet, and it flowed almost like it was a river of its own. Her eyes twinkled like stars in the night sky. Her smile could light up a room full of strangers, and she was as smart as any biochemist or therapist. And, like I said yesterday, she was as strong and as brave as any man in this wrestling federation. She was truly an inspiration to me, and I pray to god that I inherited just one-tenth of her strength.
Greg: She must really have been impressive. You said she was full blooded. Does that mean that you aren’t?
The interviewer’s voice was full of respect and the question was packed with curiosity. Gypsy nodded.
Gypsy: No, I’m not full blooded. My father is what the Rom calls a gaujo, an outsider. He was an American businessman, on a month long sabbatical in Romania, when he met my mother.
Greg: What was his name, and what does he look like?
Gypsy: His name is Jason Hammer.
Greg: Jason Hammer! The JASON HAMMER?!
Gypsy nodded at Greg’s sudden outburst.
Greg: The man who owns Hardcore Gym? The man who owns the world’s most successful gym franchise? The man who has only ever been beaten twice in his lifetime? The man who has been a world champion in eight other wrestling federations? The man who is undoubtedly the greatest wrestler of all time is your father?
Gypsy: It actually looks like you know my father better than I do, Greg. I only ever knew him as a kind, loving, caring father. I wish he could have spent longer than two weeks together at a time, though he did get to visit every three months. And, he would bring us over for the holidays. His visits to us and our trips to the States were some of the best times of my life.
Greg: But, why couldn’t you just stay with him as he traveled the states?
Gypsy: Because of Rom beliefs. One of the biggest things that we believe is Rom y Rom and gaujo y gaujo, which means gypsy with gypsy and outsider with outsider. Had my mother married my father than she would be forced to leave the clan, and would never have been accepted by any other clan of gypsies. But, the way I see it, that almost would have been better than what had happened.
Greg: What do you mean?
Gypsy: Now you do understand that most people and cultures don’t accept gypsies. Now imagine what it’s like when not only everybody else is against you, but most of your own people are too. Nearly the entire world was against us, just because my mother wanted to follow her heart. ‘What’s wrong with that?’ I would ask many of the people who shunned us. But, it never changed. It only got worse. My older sister was attacked by a gang of Rom boys from another clan when she was six. She managed to make it so that one of the boys would never be able to have children, but the others held her down while the leader held the blade of a hunting knife in a flame until it was red hot. Next, they pressed the tip of the blade into her eyes, nearly searing them out of their sockets. But, they weren’t finished. The boys kicked her until she awoke, and each time she did the knife that had claimed her eyesight slashed at her. The smell of blood a burning flesh was a very strong sensation. And, they did it all, just because she was the off spring of an outsider, and because they wanted to hear her scream…
Gypsy paused for a moment, trying to fight back tears.
Gypsy: Finally, they took turns raping her. Janna, my mum, sent her to live with Da. And he put her into therapy, and counseling, and everything else you could think of, but she was never the same again. And, to top things off, she disappeared the day after she graduated from high school. No one we know has seen her since then. After my little brother was born, mum sent him to live with Da. She hoped to protect him from what had happened to my sister.
Tears streamed from the young girls eyes. Greg Kilgreen’s mouth just hung open. After about five minutes of absolute silence, with the exception of Gypsy’s sad sobs, Greg found the strength within himself to ask another question.
Greg: Why didn’t your mother send you to live with Jason?
Gypsy: Because, out of the three of us, I was the only one that looked like a gypsy. And, that’s probably the only reason I didn’t go through the same torment my sister did. But, my family’s troubles didn’t end there. About a year ago my mother started getting sick. She fought it with every ounce of her will, but it just kept getting worse. Da, finally talked her into going to see an expert, instead of one of the shuvanis, a gypsy witch. The doctor diagnosed her with cervical cancer, and my father paid to bring in the finest doctors in the world. They all came to help my mother, but it was too late. All they could do was make her comfortable, and watch as the greatest killer in the world claimed another victim. And…it…did.
Gypsy burst into a second round of sobs, and tears poured from her eyes. Gypsy’s favorite waitress and best friend in the world came over to the table. Greg looked at her and caught sight of her name tag. Mary.
Mary: Mr. Kilgreen, I do believe this interview is over.
The scene fades to black as Mary shoos the camera crew away. The last glimpse before total darkness shows the waitress setting down to console the crying girl.