Karina Koji sits at a corner table in a classy cafe on the Vegas strip. She wears a simple black dress and an amethyst necklace. She nurses a cherry coke as she sits with the person who is interviewing her. His name is Grant and he sticks out in a place like this. He wears jeans and a t-shirt with a green jungle frog on it. As he watches Karina he has star’s in his eyes.
Karina: So you want to start interview?
Grant: Yeah yeah...sorry. I still can’t believe I am here.
Karina: I am just a person. I mean to believe you we are on same spectrum or something.
Grant: Right...so ok. When did you know you were different?
Karina looks at him and smiles.
Karina: I knew early. I was young when I figured out I saw things other people did not. My mother she worries that I am crazy. My grandma says I am touched....you know like magic.
Karina chuckles and takes a sip of her soda.
Karina: They did not have Autism in Romania so you were just crazy or touched.
Grant: How did you deal with that?
Karina: I learned to play at normal girl. I pretend to be good girl for my mother until I can’t pretend. I get good at pretending.
Grant nods and chuckles a little bit as well.
Grant: Yeah a lot of us learn how to do that. So why did you take up fighting?
Karina: Well because I am good at it. I am youngest of seven and I have six brothers. They are good at causing trouble and that trouble would find me. So it is good I learn to fight.
Grant: Yeah but its not just fighting. You...kind of use the way your brain works right? Like the way you know all those submission holds.
Karina nods and looks to be working out the words.
Karina: Da I guess so. I see things and they stick in my brain. I did the wrestling thing as a joke. I was pretending, just pretending for a while but it took.
Grant: Are you still pretending?
Karina pauses again, the words struggling to come out. She takes another sip of her soda and then the food comes. Karina has a very elegant looking salad and Grant gets a plate of masked potatoes with white gravy and chicken. Karina finds her words.
Karina: No I am not pretending. This is all me now, not much else to it.
Grant: So on my blog last week I said you were a hero for kids on the spectrum.
Karina: I am no hero...but maybe someday. To be hero I win a belt the way I am now. Clear head and clear heart. Then you call me hero and maybe I nod.
Karina smiles and takes a big bite of her salad. She looks to her left as she eats her food and smiles very big. She makes a face to someone only she can see and continues her meal. We fade out slowly.
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When we return we are back in Karina’s gym. She is dressed to train. Behind her her wall of screens. All of them show match clips of Daniel and Tiami Tyler.
Karina: I will keep this short because I must train. From what I can tell both Dainel and Tiami understand how little words will matter in a fight like this. I think we have not heard from the Tylers because they know what they are up against. That is fine. I don’t need to hear their words. I go to ring the same no matter what words I hear from them. I will win this match at Blaze of Glory, for myself but most of all Despayre. We should be at the finals but that is okay...we will get this win.
Karina smiles her strange small smile.
Karina: But I will spare a few words for the rest of the ladies at the SCW. I know many of you have met me in the ring. Some have met me in past lives and some have met me this time around. I make promise to all of you. None of you have seen what I can do. Before all I had was rage and chaos in my heart. But now is a different story. So when the Glory is done and we turn our eyes to South America I promise you this, you will finally see the real Karina Koji. And it will be worth watching.
She turns her back to the camera to train as the camera fades out.
