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The first day of seventh grade had most certainly not worked out the way Zorah had envisioned. She had ended the day by making a "dream pact" with the kid from class who cites Wombat poop facts like he's talking about what he ate for breakfast.
The past week had already been crazy enough as it is, but now... this?!
We now find Zorah as she winds down from her whirlwind first day of school and prepares to take part in Timmy's "Dream Experiment."
Will they find each other inside their dreams?
The Epic Bedhead Saga is a serialized audio drama for Dreamers of all ages — exploring memory, belonging, and the quiet courage it takes to face the things we love, and sometimes fear, most.
CAST:
Tyler Michael Jonsson as Percival, Timmy, Filbert, and Hushglow
Tiffany Ward as Zorah
PRODUCTION:
Written, produced, and directed by Tyler Michael Jonsson
Podcast cover art by Andrea Revilla
Additional artwork by Simona Ruscheva
Music and Sound Effects from Epidemic Sound
Creators and Guests
What is The Epic Bedhead Saga?
A family-friendly fantasy audio drama for Dreamers of all ages: four children, one shared dream, and something in the dark that feeds on forgetting.
Zorah Shepard keeps waking up with glitter and nuts tangled in her hair. Timmy has a best friend who hums in color. Constance has a checklist for everything. Garren has a fastball and a weight he won't talk about. Thrown together by a seventh-grade group project, they discover that their dreams overlap in a hidden world tended by ancient, whimsical creatures called Dreamtenders, and that something is growing in its shadows.
Funny, heartfelt, and about friendship, grief, memory, and the quiet courage it takes to keep believing.
There is a moment in growing up when the world tells you that wonder is something to be outgrown, and that the things you feel most deeply should be kept quiet. This is a story about kids who refuse to believe that.
Start with Episode One and follow along. New episodes every Wednesday.
Sometimes in life we are faced with events that will forever shape and mold us. After all, what is life if not for a sequence of ever changing events? An ebb and flow of ups, downs, and everything in between. I liken life to standing in an infinite hallway full of doors on either side. Inside every door, a moment.
Percival:Inside every door, an event. And each and every door is a choice, to open it and experience the moment contained within, or to leave it closed and unexplored. Some of life's events slam doors shut all too abruptly. They take, they steal, they remove possibilities, erase potential. Some events shift your focus from one possible door to another, changing your perspective and realigning your priorities.
Percival:Some events lead us to pass by a certain door, trusting our instincts that what lay behind it is best left unknown. But sometimes an event will swing a door wide open, even if it was a door you had no intention of ever opening. What makes us open one door that lay in front of us and not another? What unseen force guides our hearts and hands as we decide to reach either here or there? For Zorah, it feels as though every door that she has stepped through today has led further and further into the unknown.
Percival:Where will it lead her? How will she know what to do once she arrives? These are the things she wonders as she stands in her own vast hallway of doors, wondering which one she ought to open next. And then a more frightening thought, when will it all end? Were I able to speak with young Zorah so full of questions, so full of doubts, I would encourage her to think less of endings and instead of marvelous new beginnings.
Percival:Episode Nine: We'll Remember Together.
Zorah:The evening went by mercifully quick. Mom and Dad asked me tons of questions about how the first day of school had gone, of course. I intentionally left out the part where I made a dream pact with the kid who showed up to school with his Dream Archive. Oh, and I definitely left out the part about how I had planned on starting one myself. I figured that information was on a need to know basis and my parents did not need to know.
Zorah:After we finished dinner, I went up to my room and prepared for our dream experiment. Now that we were unofficially, officially called the Archivers, I needed my own Dream Archive. Turned out nowhere near as fancy as Timmy's, but I was able to find a hardcover journal that I got on my last birthday. I hadn't written anything in it yet, so this was as good of a use for it as any. I wrote Zorah's Dream Archive on the front in permanent marker and immediately regretted it.
Zorah:This whole thing was so stupid. What was I doing? No. Calm down, Zorah. It's okay.
Zorah:This would all make sense soon. You just need to trust the nice kid from class who sometimes shows up wearing the wrong number of shoes. No big deal. Everything is totally fine. Mixed emotions battled for dominance, nervousness, obviously, and more than a little scared.
Zorah:I couldn't tell you what scared me more. That this wouldn't work or that it would. And the closer I got to bedtime, the more excited I grew. This must be what it feels like five seconds before jumping out of a plane with a parachute. Pure excitement and sheer dread performing somersaults in your belly.
Zorah:Another feeling crept in, too. I'm not sure there's a single word for it, but I felt like a giant fraud. Think about it. Poor Timmy had kept an Archive since he was six years old. Oddly charming, sure, but it also meant that he had a ton of experience trying to remember and understand his dreams.
Zorah:He had illustrations and everything. What did I have? A collection of sparkly trail mix and a whole lot of confusion. I set Timmy's Baru Nut on the top of my desk in the corner of my room, then stared at the first blank page of my new Dream Archive. Won't lie, the thought of having to write something, anything, freaked me out.
Zorah:I'm not sure what it is, but I've always hated starting a new journal or notebook. Right now, it was nice and clean and, well, empty. But once I scribbled down all the nonsense that jiggled through my brain every night, the journal is ruined. What does that say about me? No idea.
Zorah:But I'm sure Constance already had a seven page, twelve point font, double spaced analysis essay about me and my insecurities in her binder. The clock at my bedside ticked away. We were getting down to crunch time. A few minutes from now, the experiment would start for real. Oh, Zorah, what have you gotten yourself into this time?
Zorah:After another long look at that dreaded blank first page, I made a choice. I wasn't going to let my own doubts and fears get in the way this time. Not now. Not when another person depended on me. I grabbed my favorite pen and got to work.
Zorah:Dream Archive Day One. Baru Nut Dream Experiment. Tonight, I will be conducting an experiment with Timmy. We're trying to figure out if the things we've been discovering in our hair each morning are somehow connected to each other through our dreams. We can't really think of any other explanation unless both of our parents suddenly and separately decided to get into a Brazilian snack food craze.
Zorah:Seems unlikely. Timmy has been keeping these Archives since he was six. Tonight marks my first day. Even though I may be a total newbie, hopefully, whatever I see in my dreams tonight will stick around long enough and be memorable enough to write about it afterwards. Consider this pre dream entry into my Dream Archive, my official call for help to the universe.
Zorah:Help me, please.
Zorah:Okay. The Dream Archive isn't a giant blank book anymore. It's official. I was really doing this.
Zorah:I closed the Archive and set my pen on top of it for easy access when I woke up. In what most people would consider an extremely ridiculous act, I gently grabbed the Baru Nut and tucked it into a crevice deep inside my freshly washed, detangled hair. I did a quick shake of my head to make sure it wouldn't go flying out the second I moved. Sure enough, it shot out of my hair towards the bed. With a catch that would have impressed Garren, I snatched the nut before it could smash against the wall.
Zorah:Let's rethink this a bit. On my bedside table were a few hair ties. I grabbed one and gathered up a section of my hair with the Baru Nut inside. Once I was sure the hair tie secured everything nice and neatly, I repeated the gentle head shake. No nut projectiles this time. Success.
Zorah:Once my room was properly dark, but not too dark, I gently got into bed so as to not disturb my improvised hairball. I didn't even want to think what a nightmare it would be to comb out in the morning. But that wasn't my biggest worry. My biggest worry was actually falling asleep and not staring blankly at the ceiling all night.
Zorah:I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Just like that ridiculous yoga class Mom made me go to that time. Never again.
Zorah:After an eternity, I seriously doubted I would be able to get any sleep. But as it turned out, maybe the universe had heard my cry for help after all. Before I knew it, everything had gone silent and still. No more nervousness. No more fear.
Zorah:Everything was peaceful and calm and...
Filbert:Oh, there you are, Zorah.
Zorah:A shrill voice cried. I practically jumped out of my socks. Wait. Where were my socks? I turned around to find I had been transported from my darkened bedroom to a giant colorful carnival.
Carnival Barker:Ladies and gentlemen...
Zorah:Clowns and jugglers and little glitter fairies painting people's faces. All around me, kids screamed and cheered. Men and women in shiny costumes called for people to step right up as they handed out prizes to young boys and girls. A small animal, like a miniature kangaroo, stood right in the middle of the commotion, balancing on a spinning red and white ball, waving its hands wildly like it was trying to get my attention.
Filbert:Zorah. Zorah!
Zorah:It shouted. I was most definitely asleep. I slowly walked towards the animal.
Zorah:Hello, I said lamely.
Filbert:Zorah, you made it. I told you she would show up, everyone didn't I? Didn't I?
Zorah:The entire carnival erupted with applause. Giant fireworks exploded overhead in all colors of the rainbow. The little fairies threw their hands up with the light, dusting the entire crowd in shimmering glitter. All the ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages playing games clapped their hands like they had just witnessed the best magic trick ever before. Everything looked amazing.
Zorah:The energy, the excitement, even though I knew it wasn't, the carnival felt so real. I giggled as a little boy walked up to me and handed me the sparkliest lollipop I had ever seen. The itty bitty kangaroo smiled as it rolled around me atop its ball. It zipped around me three times and came to a stop directly in front of me.
Filbert:Welcome back, Zorah.
Zorah:It said, managing to bow while still balancing on the ball.
Zorah:I... Well, thank you. I studied the creature. Was I supposed to know who or what it was?
Zorah:I'm truly sorry, but I don't actually...
Filbert:Remember us?
Zorah:The creature asked with a curious grin. No, I don't. I dropped my head and frowned. The little kangaroo clucked softly, sounding more like a chicken that had learned how to express disappointment than a marsupial.
Filbert:Well, that simply won't do.
Zorah:It declared while spinning so fast the ball began to hover. Sparks and bursts of color flew off the creature in every direction as it twirled faster and faster in midair. Then, with a loud crash of drum cymbals, it landed back on its ball. Now it wore a bright yellow coat over the top part of its body with intricate stitching that shimmered the way a rainbow does after a summer rain. Over its left eye was one of those single eyeglasses you sometimes see in pictures of old timey folks.
Zorah:I think I read somewhere that they were called monocles. Don't ask me how it stayed in place because it was simply one round piece of glass with a golden chain hanging off of it that attached to nothing. I guess it was held in place with Dream Glue.
Filbert:I.
Zorah:The now bedazzled creature began. It jumped high up into the air and landed down on his ball, which sent it back into the sky. While falling, it spun so fast I got a bit dizzy. It landed on the ball with a slight little *boing.*
Filbert:Am Filbert.
Zorah:He dipped into a low bow.
Filbert:The Splendiferous Wallaby... At your service.
Zorah:He adjusted his monocle as he stood. As I stared at the ridiculous wallaby, (I knew tiny kangaroos had a name.) I couldn't help but feel like there was a familiar quality to him. You ever watched an old episode of a favorite TV show that you hadn't seen in years? You can't really remember much about the story, but the characters reminded you of better times.
Zorah:This felt an awful lot like that. Hello, Filbert, I said, extending my hand towards his. Filbert reached into his coat and pulled out a tiny little wallaby sized wand. He flicked the handle and a glittery human sized hand emerged from the wand and floated over to me. I giggled and then shook the floating hand twice before it poofed into a cloud of bright sparkles that smelled like cotton candy.
Zorah:Filbert returned the cute little wand into his coat pocket, then hopped off his ball.
Filbert:My dear Zorah, you are here. What magical wonder should we partake of this fine eve? We have a brand new candy coaster that will knock your socks off.
Zorah:Filbert looked down at my feet.
Filbert:Well, if you had socks on, it would surely knock them off, I meant to say.
Zorah:Shimmering pools of colorful light now followed my bare footsteps like a shadow. Every step felt warm and supported, like the most comfortable pair of shoes I'd ever worn. The wind though still tickled between my toes. All the magical silliness had distracted me from the fact that I was here on a mission, and I couldn't simply forget about it. The Dream Experiment.
Zorah:Even so, a strong urge drove me to find out more about Filbert and his dream carnival. Why did it feel so new yet so familiar? Filbert, I said, his ears perked up. I don't think I would have a very easy time forgetting anyone as splendiferous as you. But I don't remember ever talking to you before.
Zorah:What is this place? Have I been here before? It feels so familiar. I just can't... I can't quite.
Zorah:Filbert hopped in place a few times, tapping his forehead with one finger in deep thought. He paused, then lifted that finger like he had figured it out. Then he lowered his hand and paused again. As Filbert stood there, trying to come up with a way to explain whatever it was he was thinking, a strange humming sound rose over the noise of the carnival.
Zorah:Several of the fairies and children in the crowd glowed. I didn't even notice at first. But soon, almost every person and object in the carnival pulsed with a slow rhythmic glowing. Filbert stopped thinking with his hands. Now he was just hopping in circles in place, searching all around him, his head turning this way and that.
Zorah:What was he looking for? What was it that was changing the carnival? A warm pulse pressed up against my head. It didn't hurt but it definitely wanted to make itself known. I reached up and discovered the source of the sensation.
Zorah:The Baru Nut. I gently twisted it free from the hair tied tangle it was caught up in. It was, like everything else, glowing brightly. I stared at it as the glowing pulse picked up speed. Faster and faster, brighter and brighter.
Zorah:With a soft hum, something in the nut clicked on like a light switch. The pulsing stopped. Now it was a deep bright green. I couldn't stop staring at it or listening to the comforting hum it made.
Timmy:Hello, Zorah.
Zorah:Slowly, I turned and saw, who else, Timmy Jorgensen standing next to Filbert. Floating above Timmy was no way... The rainbow jellyfish he'd sketched out in his Dream Archive. I numbly raised my hand and attempted to wave. My bottom jaw hanging halfway to the ground.
Timmy:I knew it would work. I knew it.
Zorah:Timmy told his jellyfish companion. What did Timmy say that thing's name was again? Shushglow? The jellyfish raised one of its tentacles onto Timmy's shoulder and hummed a deep melody.
Zorah:Timmy, I asked. Is, is that the jellyfish from your Dream Archive? I honestly had no idea how or what else to ask. Timmy smiled up at his companion.
Timmy:This is Hushglow. He is my very best friend. He looks like a jellyfish, but he isn't one. He just looks like he is.
Zorah:Right. Hushglow. Well, I'd been close at least. I nodded. I mean, sure.
Zorah:If I was going to accept the fact that my dreams had a magical wallaby named Filbert, then why shouldn't there be a not-jellyfish named Hushglow too? It made so little sense that it made perfect sense, weirdly. This dream world wasn't so bad, you know? It was starting to make my real life look totally sane. I took that as a huge win.
Zorah:As my brain attempted to process whatever this was, I saw Filbert nervously rub his hands together. Even though we had supposedly only just met, I regretted leaving him hanging. Well, Timmy, uh, Hushglow, I said, trying to sound sure of myself. This is Filbert. I motioned my hands towards him dramatically.
Filbert:Filbert, the Splendiferous Wallaby, at your service.
Zorah:He corrected. Oh, yes. I'm so sorry. I quickly agreed. You can't forget the Splendiferous part. Or the Wallaby part.
Timmy:Hello, Filbert. You are a Splendiferous Wallaby indeed.
Zorah:Timmy said, bowing low like he was addressing royalty. That cheered Filbert up instantly. He hopped up and down, spun around three times, and performed a flourish with his hands. It reminded me of Mrs. McD's jazz hands dance. I couldn't help but laugh.
Zorah:Now that we had all been introduced, I remembered that Filbert and I were right on the edge of discovery when Timmy and Hushglow showed up. Timmy, I said, maybe you can help Filbert and I figure something out. You seem to have a much better handle on this whole dream thing than I do. You and Hushglow have known each other for years, right? Through all that time, you always remember him and he remembers you?
Timmy:Yes, of course Zorah. Like I told you, Hushglow is my very best friend.
Zorah:Well, see, that's the thing. Filbert remembers me just fine. He was expecting me when I arrived here and everything and I I don't remember him the same way, or at all. An incredible wave of guilt washed over me like I had betrayed my best friend. I couldn't shake the feeling.
Zorah:It sank into my gut like a bad slice of meatloaf. Wait a minute. Had I betrayed my best friend? Filbert stopped hopping and spun his foot against the dirt, staring at a glowing rock beside him. This was not the Splendiferous Wallaby I met a few minutes ago.
Zorah:He was sad, maybe even scared. Hushglow hummed a deep rhythm and pulsed a dark purple color. Timmy nodded as if he understood exactly what all that meant.
Timmy:Zorah, I think Hushglow is right. Filbert remembers you because he has never really left you, But maybe you...
Zorah:Timmy glanced over at Filbert.
Timmy:Decided to go away for a while.
Zorah:Filbert dabbed his eye with the back of his hand, his face scrunched up in an attempt not to cry. My pulse sped up. My throat tightened. An ache deep in my gut worked its way up to my heart. Poor, Filbert.
Zorah:He didn't deserve that kind of pain. I couldn't shake the thought that I had this all wrong. What if Timmy was right? Had I somehow completely forgotten my own best dream friend? Or even worse, did I choose to forget?
Zorah:As I looked down at Filbert, still trying and failing to keep himself from crying, something inside me snapped. My emotions felt like a soda can you tried to open right after dropping it. My chest tightened as my throat started to swell. I tried swallowing it, but it almost felt like choking. Something deep in my soul felt a way that I had never felt before.
Zorah:I tried to catch my breath as I started to feel lightheaded. I crumpled down to my hands and knees as tears began to flow. A warmth approached me from above. Hushglow had floated beside me and put two of his tentacles on my shoulders, as they pulsed a soothing warm blue color. Then, a small fuzzy hand rubbed against mine. Filbert's hand. My best friend's hand.
Zorah:I truly didn't remember Filbert, but every tear that splashed on the ground did. They hit the dirt like shattered memories. My mind may have forgotten, but my heart remembered.
Filbert:I knew you would come back, Zorah.
Zorah:He reached up with his other hand to wipe the tears from my cheek. His yellow coat and silly monocle were gone. He wasn't trying to put on a show or, or make a scene. He just wanted to welcome back his friend.
Filbert:I always knew.
Zorah:Filbert, I don't know what to say. I don't know what it is that I'm forgetting, but I do know that I forgot it.
Filbert:It's okay, my dear. We'll remember together.
Zorah:I smiled back at Filbert and the wave of sadness finally passed.
Timmy:I have a theory, Zorah, if you want to hear it.
Zorah:Timmy said once I'd righted myself off the ground. He stood shoulder to, uh, shoulder with Hushglow.
Zorah:Of course, I told Timmy. What do you think?
Timmy:Well, I've been Archiving my dreams for a long time now, and I've tried talking to a lot of other kids about their dreams too. A few of them told me some interesting things, but to be honest, most of the time they just laugh at me or make fun of me. At first, I thought it was because I wasn't normal like they were. Lots of normal people don't treat me very nicely.
Zorah:He paused for a long moment.
Timmy:But then I realized something. Maybe those kids were normal. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe they were so worried about growing up and acting like the big kids that they wanted to forget about their dreams. Maybe becoming normal was their new dream instead.
Zorah:Timmy looked different. I mean, he still looked like himself but something felt different. He felt different. Of course, this was where he really belonged. Like the Timmy I saw at school was just a version of himself that was waiting to get back here where things made sense.
Timmy:I think that Filbert has been here the entire time, Zorah. I bet you two have had some amazing adventures together. But one day you probably woke up and realized that you wanted to be normal like the bigger kids, so you forgot.
Zorah:He didn't say it rudely or with any sort of judgment, but in the same way you recite a science fact in front of the class. Filbert nodded. Timmy brought up a good point. I had been worried about fitting in lately. Middle school was supposed to be this huge time in a kid's life.
Zorah:I mean, it was only a matter of time now until my body started to, you know, change or whatever. Gross. Actually, let's not talk about it, okay? Cool. What I'm trying to say is all of this meant I had a lot of growing up to do.
Zorah:Little did I know that growing up meant leaving a lot behind and it hurt. My parents tried to warn me about this. Enjoy being a kid while you can, they said, because it will be over before you even realize it and there is no getting it back. Timmy was right. I was trying to be like everyone else.
Zorah:I don't know if it was a choice I made on purpose or if it happened on its own, but it had happened. I looked at Filbert, then at Hushglow, then all around the wondrous carnival. I was changing and it was not for the better. Filbert, I am so sorry that I forgot about you. You deserve so much better.
Filbert:Fear not, my dear. We shall recover your memories yet still.
Zorah:With his trademark flourish, Filbert jumped high into the air and spun wildly. When he hit the ground, his coat and silly monocle were back in their proper places. I giggled as Filbert hopped on one foot. He had regained his Splendiferousness.
Timmy:I'm so happy that you found Filbert again, Zorah,
Zorah:Timmy said while holding onto one of the not-jellyfish's arms.
Timmy:I can't imagine what it would be like if I forgot Hushglow.
Zorah:All around us, the glowing glittery carnival appeared duller and darker, like it was slowly fading away.
Timmy:We don't have much more time, Zorah,
Zorah:Timmy reminded us.
Timmy:We can't forget our experiment.
Zorah:Oh, right. I was so busy reconnecting with my dreams that I had almost forgotten the very important mission we were on entirely. An appropriate word came to mind. The password is Splendiferous.
Timmy:Got it. Splendiferous it is,
Zorah:he repeated. An awkward silence later, I said, I guess I'll see you at school.
Timmy:I'll see you there.
Zorah:Timmy and Hushglow faded away with a gentle glow. Then the fairies and carnival workers poofed into a shower of glitter. All that remained was Filbert, back up again on his red and white ball.
Filbert:I'll see you again soon, dear.
Zorah:He smiled and vanished. My eyes popped open. My hand instinctively reached towards the jumble of curls with the hair tie. The Baru Nut was gone. I jumped out of bed and ran to my desk, frantically opening my Dream Archive with one hand and grabbing my pen with the other.
Zorah:I began writing.
Percival:I smiled as I watched young Zorah scribble frantically in her newly christened Dream Archive. Had Timothy's dream experiment worked? Had they truly connected with each other in their dreams? Or was this simply another random dream her mind had invented in order to better and more logically explain the events of her first day of school? I could tell you, of course.
Percival:But where would the fun in that be, my dear friend? All I will say for now is that the results will be something truly and utterly... Splendiferous.
Announcer:Thank you for listening. If you'd like to support the show and help bring the story to life, please consider joining us on Patreon at patreon.com/epicbedheadsaga. Patrons receive episodes one week early and exclusive behind the scenes content.
Announcer:You can also find us at epicbedheadsaga.com and on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. And if you're enjoying the show, please follow us on your podcast app of choice. It helps more than you know. The Epic Bedhead Saga is written, produced, and directed by Tyler Michael Jonsson. Episode nine features Tyler Michael Jonsson as Percival, Timmy, Hushglow, and Filbert, and Tiffany Ward as Zorah.
Announcer:This episode was made possible with the support of our Dreamtender tier patrons, Nancy and Grant Jonsson. We'll see you next time. Until then, keep dreaming.