[Momma Foley sits in a hospital room, beside her baby boy. He’s unconscious and bandaged. She grabs his hand and places it between two of hers.]
“My little prince.”
[Tears fill her eyes.]
“I know you’re too old for bedtime stories, but I have just the tale for you.”
[She produces a small worn booklet.]
“Once upon a time there was a young boy called Henry. He was just like you -curious, kind, and always asking questions. He loved to explore and dream of what the world beyond our home was like. Sometimes, his mother would look at him and see the spark of something extraordinary, even if Henry didn’t see it yet.”
[Momma wipes a tear away, turning the page.]
“One day, while Henry was playing by the groves, he found an old, weathered crown washed up on the shore. The gold was faded, and it didn’t shine like the crowns you see in stories, but it was a crown, nonetheless. When he picked it up, he felt something strange, like the weight of the whole world had suddenly shifted. The crown seemed to speak to him, not in words, but in feelings. It whispered that great things were waiting for him, but only if he was brave enough to follow his heart.”
[She places the book down beside him on the bed and puts a hand atop his once again.]
“And Henry, being a boy full of courage and curiosity—just like you—put the crown on his head. He felt no different at first, but something inside him had changed. When he returned to his home, people looked at him with new eyes. They didn’t see just a boy anymore. They saw someone who carried the heart of a leader, someone who could be a king.”
[Momma closes the book.]
“I see so much of Henry in you, my son. A boy full of courage, just like you. Malakai midnight doesn’t realize that. None of them do. But you hear the crown whispering, don’t you? You hear it talking to you, beckoning you, I just know it.
Tombstone may have put you in this bed, my prince, but in doing so he’s dropped that crown of his on the ground, right beside you. All you have to do is reach out and pick it up. That’s all, Felix. Reach out, pick it up and put in on your head where it belongs.
It starts with Malakai.”
[She sighs.]
“He’ll want to stop you from doing that. He’ll want to make you suffer because he knows that if you pick up that crown and take it for your own, Arcadia and Old School Wrestling will have a King they can be proud of.
But it’s you that has the heart of a leader, and you’ll prove it by waking up and making it to Vendetta. I just know it.”
[Felix eyes slowly and wearily open.]
“Remember, my love, it doesn’t matter if you feel small sometimes. What matters is how big your heart is and how brave you are, especially when things seem tough. You can do anything, just like Henry did.”