I won't call this a comeback, but it was fun to write a story for the first time in ages.

Tillica is the name of a now-defunct company that Jessica and I used to work for. They were an IT shop and had nothing at all to do with pillows.

Enjoy!

---

It's Space-Aged!
1.

Veronica rolled over onto her right side, stayed there for a few seconds and then rolled back onto her left. She willed herself to go to sleep. Last year, to confront her fear of heights, she forced herself to go rock climbing. Not to a gym, but to a crag in a conservation area not far from Toronto. She made it to the top of one of the admittedly easy routes one move at a time, forcing her hand up, then a foot, then a hand again, over and over. If she could do that, shaking, jaw clenched all the way, she should be able to force herself to go to sleep. She opened her eyes and squinted at the clock. Two fifteen.

She cursed under her breath and flicked on the lamp on the nightstand. Her husband Brian snored beside her. It wasn't the snoring that kept her up; after six years of marriage she found it almost soothing. It was her pillow. She sat up in bed, flipped it over so that she would be lying on the cool side and then fluffed it up. It was a brand new pillow, a Christmas gift from Brian's mother.

Veronica was suspicious of it. Oh, the pillow looked innocent enough. The packaging had said it was scientifically designed to be the most comfortable pillow of all time, made with patented, space-age materials that provided you, the sleeper, with the perfect amount of support. It was the pinnacle of pillow technology, the most important advancement in cushions since the invention of the feather. On the drive home from his parents' place, Brian couldn't shut up about how much they must have spent on them.

"Up until a few months ago, these things were only available to movie stars and professional athletes," he'd said. "They won an award from Popular Mechanics."

And Brian was certainly sleeping soundly. There was even a bit of drool on the anti-bacterial, hypoallergenic pillowcase. Maybe there was nothing wrong with the pillow. Still, this was her mother-in-law she was talking about. This was the woman who gave her son the business card of a divorce lawyer as a wedding present.

2.

Veronica was asleep an hour later. She was laying on her side with her left arm wrapped around the pillow. Her legs were tucked in slightly, knees bent. Not quite a fetal position, more of a slight defensive crouch. She made a sound half-way between a moan and a whimper.

In her dream she was walking backstage after a concert. Off in the distance she could hear the din of people in post-concert mode. Singing, shouting, stumbling. She recognized the building as the old Winnipeg Arena, which was ridiculous because she hadn't lived in Winnipeg in fifteen years and they tore it down a few years back anyway. And the long hallway she was in didn't look anything like the real arena. But such was the way with dreams. She was in the Winnipeg Arena and her sleeping mind accepted it.

Veronica was wondering, since she was in Winnipeg, if she had her car with her or if she would have to take the bus home, with home presumably being her parents' house. At the end of the hallway was a red exit sign above a battered steel door.

She pushed through it, and instead of the parking lot she expected, she found herself in one of the dressing rooms. There were a bunch of people but her eyes immediately locked on Jon Bon Jovi, who was sitting on a couch, still holding his guitar. He had his shaggy, Nineties-era hair, not his Eighties mullet. Veronica was a little relieved.

"Hi Veronica, how did you like concert?"

"Oh, it was great, uh, Jon."

She wracked her brain, trying to remember if she'd ever been to a Jon Bon Jovi concert.

"I was going to play a few more songs back here. Anything you'd want to hear?"

"Well, I always liked Dead or Alive."

"Sounds great. Maybe first, though, you'd like a refreshing Coke?"

"What?"

"Going to a concert can be exhausting. Maybe a Coke would pick you up a bit."

From nowhere Jon Bon Jovi produced a can of Coke, cracked it open and offered it to her.

"Why don't you enjoy the Coke side of life, Veronica?"

Veronica opened her eyes. Well that was weird, she thought, I would have thought Jon Bon Jovi would have offered me a beer. Or maybe a swig of whiskey. I don't even like Coke much.

If Veronica had to have pop, she usually had Dr. Pepper.

3.

When Veronica walked into the kitchen the next morning, tying her bathrobe around her waist, Brian was already there, frying up eggs. She could also smell coffee and toast.

"You're freakishly productive this morning," she said.

"Wasn't I right about those pillows? I slept like a baby," he beamed, "That crick in my neck I've been complaining about? Totally gone."

Later, when they were sitting down eating their breakfast, Brian asked while munching toast, "What do you think about a trip to the Bahamas?"

Veronica furrowed her brow.

"You hate hot places. You don't like anything that makes you sweat."

"Yeah, I dunno. I was just thinking about it this morning. Sitting on a beach somewhere with a cold beer and something to read. It sounds, you know, really nice."

Veronica shook her head and turned her attention on her eggs. While she finished her breakfast, she hummed Living On A Prayer to herself.

4.

The CEO of Tillica Head Support Systems International, Walter Martin, stepped up to the microphone that had been erected in the lobby of their head office. He looked haggard and exhausted, like he'd been chased to the press conference by a pack of dogs. His tie was loose, he had a day or two of stubble, bags under his eyes and took a long swig from a disposable coffee cup before beginning to speak.

"I wanted to talk about the wild and ridiculous rumours about our new pillow line," he said after clearing his throat. "I want to start by assuring the public that our products are perfectly safe and that the rumours of mind control are fanciful, and patently false."

A reporter shouted out, "So you're denying that your pillows influence people through their dreams?"

"Tillica provides product placement services for advertisers and what is demonstrably the finest head support system on the market. It's a win-win situation for every stakeholder. There is simply no science showing that in-dream product placement has an undue influence on peoples' decision making. Is it that big of a departure from more traditional advertising mediums? I don't think so. It is just new, and will take some getting used to."

The assembled reporters launched a barrage of questions and Walter Martin held up his hands until they settled down.

"Look people, the decline of more traditional advertising markets like newspapers and television require innovative ideas. And offering advertising this way significantly reduces the cost of our pillow system, making it available to more people. There's nothing sinister going on here. If we could control peoples' minds we would, I don't know, order them to buy Tillica stock or something."

"Then how do you respond to the reports coming out of New Jersey about people having dreams in which they buy Tillica stock?"

"Our company is a growing, successful corporation. It seems to me perfectly normal and reasonable that peoples' unconscious minds might be hinting that they should invest. And it's damn fine advice, I might add."

5.

Veronica closed her book, flicked off her bedside lamp and nestled onto her pillow.

"I can't believe you still sleep on that thing," said Brian.

"Why? You're the one who used to brag about how comfortable they are."

"That was before we found out they were fucking with your brain."

"Oh, the FDA has ruled them harmless. And they are really, really comfortable. You don't see me running off on spending sprees do you?"

"I just don't trust them is all."

"Suit yourself."

Veronica closed her eyes and pulled the covers up to her chin. She wondered what songs Jon Bon Jovi was going to play for her tonight.

4 responses to "Week #43 - It's Space-Aged! "

the erinn wrote: Thursday, 05 Mar 2009 08:54 Fantastic, Dana. Ended too quickly, but I really enjoy the concept of dream-advertising. The typo in Bon Jovi's first line made me hope you were going to make him Russian, so I was slightly disappointed when I figured out it was just a missing word.

Karen wrote: Thursday, 05 Mar 2009 12:56 I loved it! I really like the way it ended, what with the husband not using it anymore and she's practically dependant on it. Totally makes me wish I had me one of those pillows! Ha ha ha!

Victoria wrote: Friday, 06 Mar 2009 14:03 Yay! You're writing stories again! I like it, but I wanted it to be longer, too. Seems like there's more lead-in and closure that could have been possible. And, hey, do I detect a dream theme in your writing lately?

Astrid Terras wrote: Monday, 20 Apr 2009 17:53 "This was the woman who gave her son the business card of a divorce lawyer as a wedding present." Hilarious!

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