Maco Jeleniewski: Hey there. You're listening to your host produced in collaboration with Impact 89 fm. Your host is an episodic audio drama surrounding a fictional podcast. Hello.
Charlie Shepard: Host. Hello. Welcome to the Tell Me A Story podcast, the podcast where we tell you our stories for as long as you'll listen. You can find us on socials at tell me story pod where you can shoot us a message or suggestion for a future episode. I'm Charley Shepherd, showing by
SawyerDalton: Sawyer Dalton.
Charlie Shepard: Today, we're going a bit more free form with the podcast. I don't have a topic to introduce to you because we're a little bit on backlog, technical difficulties. So we're gonna take the time to talk a little bit about what's happening in our lives and big updates with us. Sawyer?
SawyerDalton: Right. I'd like to announce that we're getting a little revamp. As we branch out and increase our scope, we'd like to broaden our subject matter. We're going to be including short, 5 minute features in the middle of episodes now, which will essentially be a mix of advertising and reviewing places we've gone to. This helps us connect with more people and gets us the funding we need to keep this podcast going.
Charlie Shepard: We're looking to increase our social media engagement too, so you'll probably see us on more platforms. Keep an eye out for upcoming live streams or for when we launch our Discord server.
SawyerDalton: And Elise is taking a short break from the podcast. We're not really sure when she's gonna come back, but she's been taking time for her mental health.
Charlie Shepard: She's doing alright. Just won't be with us for this week's episode. As you can tell, I'm picking up hosting duty. I hope that I'm up to snuff. So, Sawyer, wanna tell us a bit about your latest hiking trip?
SawyerDalton: I'd love to. Last weekend, I drove up to Redwood Pines Forest Reserve after it was recommended to me on an online forum. They were raving about how tranquil and quiet the trails were, and I've been needing a mental health break. To be honest, I left my phone in the car. It's so underrated to just be alone with nature.
It fills your heart a bit.
Charlie Shepard: Yeah. I get that. I think we can all get out more, touch grass.
SawyerDalton: Seriously, it's getting nice out again. I wanna try to get out more, be social, take in life. A good hike ups your cortisol levels. Did you know that?
Charlie Shepard: Lots of people talk about the health benefits of running and other exercise. I'm sure hiking isn't that far off.
SawyerDalton: Right. Redwood Pines was nice because it's nearby too. It was a cathartic experience.
Annalise Becker: Analise Analise Becker, medical personal vlog. I've been I've been piecing it altogether and putting together a timeline of events, thinking back to when everything started, how how it's progressed and major events in the timeline, and I think I'm onto something. Let's say let's say I visited my parents about 2 months ago. Yeah? I only went by because my mom was getting over some kind of sickness.
I kelped out around the house. I ate there, and I probably had a lot of contact with with the surfaces in the house. It's not that far of a jump to say that I thought I might have contracted something while at their house. Mom called a few days ago, actually. She said she had to go to the doctor for stomach problems then was rushed to the ER.
It was a whole thing. She got her stomach pumped. She was she was going on this long rant about listening to your body and biting the bullet, and it didn't help. Now I there's there's so many conflicting symptoms. I thought at one point I was dealing with some kind of parasomnia.
That's like some kind of sleep disorder, but but my head, there's so much pressure. It's pushing, and I'm trying to push back. My nerves feel shot, and everything is just super intense right now. Every every part of my inside is trying to get out, Which isn't normal. Unsurprisingly, googling, my brain is trying to escape my skull.
Doesn't come up with any results. Something is it's tearing me apart, and I can't see it. That's the worst part. I can't see it. No one else can either.
It's I think it's trying to hide. No. No. It was trying to hide. I must have done something to drive it out.
Maybe maybe I'm making progress. Yes! It'll leave and I can finally have my life back. I'm sick of it. I'm being afraid of an irrefractive surface.
When I look at myself, I see something else behind my eyes. Could you imagine the feeling? You don't even remember who you used to be. You're reminded of how little time you have, how little time before you forget again, and you're a little bit more gone. There are brief moments like this where there's it's almost like peace.
Just by being here, I know that there's there's a peace left. That brings me a moment of calm. I wish that I were stronger, that I would take this moment of control and do something with it, that I would try to change what's happening. I haven't had much time to think at all, so I guess I don't have anything else to say. I just hope that it's quick.
I can't even begin to imagine. Oh god. Charlie and Sawyer. I I hope they'll be okay. I'm so afraid to think about them because what if my last thoughts are filled with regret about what I could have done better?
If I go down today and I never come back, will the last thing I think about be how much I hurt them? How much they'll be hurting after? I can't be selfish. I can't. It's not fair.
It's not fair. Please. Please. It's I'm so scared. I'm so scared.
I have to do this. Hello? Hello? Can can anyone hear me? Where am I?
I can't see. It's so dark. I'm so cold. I need to keep moving, but I can't keep going like this. I should just lie down.
It'll be for a little while. What was that? Is someone there? Hello? I can hear you.
There's something there. I can hear you. I can't feel my fingers. I can't feel my face. Hello?
Hello. Please. I need help. I my name, I'm where am I? I can't see anything through the fog.
It's all blurring together. It's like I'm reaching and I can't. Why don't I rest a while? I just need a minute. When I have more energy, I can keep going.
Keep going.
Maco Jeleniewski: You've just listened to an episode of your host made in collaboration with Impact 89 FM. This episode of your host was written by Madeline Jeleniewski and edited by Laura King. Directed and produced by Madeline Jeleniewski. Casted in collaboration with Laura King. Audio engineered by Madeline Jeleniewski with assistance from Tyler Butt.
Music written by Cassandra Cohen. Featuring the vocal performances of Alex Melconian as Annalise Becker, It's Not Mika as Charlie Shepherd, and Drake O'Chella as Sawyer Dalton. Additional voices provided by Michelle Long and Simon Zukert. Thanks for listening.