Narrator: Jessika Downes-Gössl 🇬🇧 Writer: Ashaye Brown ✍️ Sound effects: crickets 🌾 Includes mentions of: Nostalgia, Children, Science Fiction, Memory, Sadness, Inspiration, Friendship. Welcome back, sleepyheads. Tonight, we have a unique story where we’ll delve into the realm of memories and childhood, reminding us of the moments when we were most at peace in life before all the busyness of growing up. 😴 Watch, listen and comment on this episode on the Get Sleepy YouTube channel. And hit subscribe while you're there! Enjoy various playlists of our stories and meditations on our Slumber Studios Spotify profile. Support our Sponsors Tonight's episode is sponsored by Zecliner from FlexSteel. Visit Zecliner.com today to find the perfect model for you. You deserve the Zecliner! Support Us Get Sleepy’s Premium Feed: getsleepy.com/support/ Get Sleepy Merchandise: getsleepy.com/store Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/get-sleepy/id1487513861 Connect Stay up to date on all our news and even vote on upcoming episodes! Website: getsleepy.com/ Facebook: facebook.com/getsleepypod/ Instagram: instagram.com/getsleepypod/ Twitter: twitter.com/getsleepypod Our Apps Redeem exclusive unlimited access to Premium content for 1 month FREE in our mobile apps built by the Get Sleepy and Slumber Studios team: Deep Sleep Sounds: deepsleepsounds.com/getsleepy/ Slumber: slumber.fm/getsleepy/ FAQs Have a query for us or need help with something? You might find your answer here:Get Sleepy FAQs About Get Sleepy Get Sleepy is the #1 story-telling podcast designed to help you get a great night’s rest. By combining sleep meditations with a relaxing bedtime story, each episode will guide you gently towards sleep. Get Sleepy Premium Get instant access to ad-free episodes and Thursday night bonus episodes by subscribing to our premium feed. It's easy! Sign up in two taps! Get Sleepy Premium feed includes: Monday and Wednesday night episodes (with zero ads). An exclusive Thursday night bonus episode. Access to the entire back catalog (also ad-free). Extra-long episodes. Exclusive sleep meditation episodes. Discounts on merchandise. We’ll love you forever. Get your 7-day free trial: getsleepy.com/support. Thank you so much for listening! Feedback? Let us know your thoughts! getsleepy.com/contact-us/. Get Sleepy is a production of Slumber Studios. Check out our podcasts, apps, and more at slumberstudios.com. That’s all for now. Sweet dreams ❤️ 😴 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What themes are explored in Cherry Blossom Memories?
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Hey everyone, I've been hearing from many of you lately about how stressed and anxious you're feeling. Perhaps it's all the political energy out there, or maybe the heaviness of managing all the daily tasks that are on your plate. Whatever it is, I want you to know that you're not alone. and I have the perfect podcast to recommend to you that will help you manage stress and anxiety.
It's called Meditation for Anxiety and it provides daily meditations that can help you dissolve all those worries and find deep peace. A recent favorite of mine is called Relieve Nighttime Anxiety and I've found it really helpful. So follow Meditation for Anxiety on your favorite podcast player, so you can have these incredible meditations on hand anytime you need them.
Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy. My name's Thomas, and I'm your host. Thank you so much for being here. Tonight's story will be read by Jessica. It's a unique story in which we'll be guided by a little robot who finds a woman it met long ago and goes on an adventure to bring happy memories back to her town.
We'll delve into the realm of memories and childhood, reminding us of the moments when we were most at peace in life. So, my friends, I hope you're feeling settled, relaxed, and at peace right now. If so, you might even sense yourself edging closer to sleep with each passing breath.
However, if you need a little bit of help to get closer to that state of relaxation and rest, then just follow along with me for the next few moments. Feel free to move around and adjust anything you need to find optimal comfort at this time. And with a gentle awareness of your breath, just reach a place of stillness and ease. by taking a few long and slow inhales and exhales.
Perhaps there is a fair bit of chatter and activity going on in your mind. Maybe you're trying to block out this busyness. But we all know that trying not to think about something typically has the opposite effect, and we end up in a bit of a battle with our own minds. So instead of pushing thoughts away altogether, how about we just do some calm, intentional thinking?
So first, I'd like you to think about your favorite color. Once you have that in mind, think of an object, or a fruit, an animal, or anything else that has or is your favorite color. Then, think of another object that begins with the same letter as the one you're thinking of now. Finally, consider what color this new object is. And, if you like, you can repeat all of those steps again.
thinking of another object of that color, then an object that begins with the same letter, and so on. This is just a small example of a calming, intentional game of thinking, and it may or may not work well for you. But just giving your brain some sort of easy relaxing task, if it feels busy with swirling thoughts, can be really effective at getting us to a more relaxed and restful state.
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Chapter 2: How does the story introduce the main character?
And for now, I invite you to tune in to our story and to allow your imagination to be carried on a gentle journey by Jessica's soothing voice. Start to picture a peaceful, scenic town somewhere far away. Because this is where our story begins.
In a little town, somewhere in the corner of the world, it is nighttime. On Wisteria Avenue, the residents are getting ready for bed. The lights are being turned off, blankets are being pulled up to chins, and someone is whispering goodnight. The grand clock in the town center strikes 11 o'clock. It is a gentle chime, like monks ringing a temple bell.
The vibrations of the sound travel through the paving stones of the streets. There is no other sound to be heard. There is no other sight to be seen besides the twinkling of the stars. Then, out of the darkness, a little robot rolls out into the street. It is the size of a small child, with a round barrel torso and large shining eyes. It has one wheel, and on its back is painted its name, Mem AA.
Mem AA is old. It was the first of its kind. And no matter how lovingly it has been taken care of, its little wheel still squeaks when it rolls forward, and the lights behind its eyes flicker as they scan the street. From further down the street... Mem-JR emerges. And then there is Mem-II. The three robots each roll up to different front doors.
Without having to knock, the doors open and invite them inside. Three solitary bedroom lights in three different houses turn on in Wisteria Avenue. The mem-bots remain inside for a good long while. All that can be noticed of their presence is the pleasant low hum that emits out of the bottom of three doors.
Without knowing why, the residents of Wisteria Avenue all sigh and roll over in their sleep. The town clock strikes midnight, and, like clockwork cuckoo birds, the Membots all reappear at once. They roll away from Wisteria Avenue, looking as pleased with themselves as their little metal faces will allow them.
If anyone was watching, they would notice that the light behind Mem AA's eyes is shining a little brighter. The street is quiet once more. All is as it should be. But wait... Because, trailing far behind its comrades, here is MEM-RE finally making its scheduled appearance. This robot does not roll forward in straight lines. It wanders and strays everywhere.
like it is not quite sure which direction it should go. And its eyes roam freely, too, taking in everything around it. Suddenly, Mem-RE stops in the middle of Wisteria Avenue. It looks up at the sky. Who can say what has caught the little robot's attention this time? Perhaps there is a short circuit in its wiring. If only it were possible to say for sure whether robots are capable of dreaming.
Mem-RE certainly gives off the appearance of a dreamer. Eventually, Mem-RE gets moving again. It rolls up to the door of Number 9, a little yellow house in the middle of Wisteria Avenue. The door stays stubbornly shut for a while, as if it doesn't want to let the membot in. But, eventually, it swings open wide. MemRE rolls into an invitingly warm hallway.
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Chapter 3: What is Mem-RE's purpose in the story?
But she still looks like, at any moment, she might get up and dance. Keiko gives her to Mem-Ai. That's it. That's what it was like for me to be a child, she says. Mem-Ai opens a door in the front of its chest. It puts the doll carefully inside. Its senses register a trace of almond tofu still clinging to her twiggy limbs.
The smell distracts the robot, and it completely forgets that Keiko is still there. Keiko waits patiently for MemRE to do or say something else. She doesn't know how this is supposed to go, but she imagined becoming an adult would be more organized than this. She wonders if MemRE is a new MemBot, and maybe is just as confused as she is.
She feels a sudden warmth of friendship towards the little robot. It is a very similar feeling to what she once felt for her little cherry blossom girl. But she no longer remembers that now. The memory has been given away. MemRE leaves Wisteria Avenue with Keiko's childhood memory in its chest. It wonders, not for the first time, why the people of this town willingly give up their memories.
If it could have the kind of memories that they had, it wouldn't give them up for the world. Much time passes, who can say how long? The only thing that is certain is that the minutes become hours, the hours become days, and the days become years. This town has always moved at its own pace. A second can move treacle slow, but a week can seem like it passed in the blink of an eye.
Although they have clocks, they do not let them dictate their lives. There is nothing wrong with taking your time. In the Membot warehouse on the edge of the little town, MemRE stirs after a long hibernation. It powers its functions back on and checks that everything is in working order. looks around. All of its fellow Membots are in hibernation mode around it.
They are tucked away in their charging points, where they go every morning when their services are complete. But, by the light of the moon streaming through the arched warehouse windows, MemRE can tell that it is late into the night. Much later than the MemBots are programmed to wake up. How strange. Usually, MemRE is the only one who is late.
MemRE rolls over to MemAA in the port next door and tries to nudge the older robot awake. MemAA does not react. MEM-RE looks closer and sees that MEM-AA's charging light is red, despite the fact that it is clearly still plugged in. MEM-RE goes back to its own port, picks up its plug, and takes it back to MEM-AA. While it waits, it looks at all the memorabilia that it has hung up around its port.
A hand-drawn picture book with a dedication on the first page. A length of string tied into the shape of a makeshift ring. a broken music box which used to play a bamboo flute lullaby. These are all Mem R.E. 's favorite memories. It should have taken the mementos to the Mem archives after it collected them, but it had preferred to keep them close. MemAA still isn't charging.
MemRE takes the plug out and rolls over to MemJR, then MemII, and every other MemBot in the warehouse. None of them are turning on. MemRE takes another look around and wonders where all the engineers have gone. Usually, they are here to solve any problems with the MemBots. MemRE makes a life-changing decision then. A brave decision that no other little Membot like itself has ever made before.
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Chapter 4: What childhood memory does Keiko choose to sacrifice?
The sips of coffee are like the flow of a fresh water stream. It looks at Keiko. eager to see if she has been transported with it. But when it looks into her eyes, it no longer sees the girl who once danced with a cherry blossom doll. Her gaze is distant. Mem-RE suddenly has another idea. It opens up the door on its chest and reaches inside.
Still sitting there, untouched by the years, is Keiko's dolls. Mem Re holds her in its hand for a second. It remembers the day she was made. It remembers how she flew and laughed and lay down on the grass. It remembers as if it had been the one there with her, not Keiko. MemRE doesn't want to give this memory up. MemBots don't have childhoods.
They don't get to have memories like this one for themselves. And Keiko doesn't even miss the memory. She's an adult. She's an engineer who wears grey suits now. What is she going to do with the memory of a cherry blossom doll? Even though it is sad to let it go, MemRE puts the doll down on Keiko's desk. Keiko glances quickly at it, and then away again.
And then, the fog clears from in front of her eyes. It is as if the sun has come out once again. She looks back at the doll and her eyes go wide. Oh, she says. But she cannot say any more. Because she is too busy remembering. She remembers the smell of honey and green sap coming from the cherry blossoms over her head. She remembers the dew of the grass as it brushes against her toes.
She remembers the hum of the flying insects and the blue of the sky. And she remembers that she used to dance. Then Keiko picks up the cherry blossom doll, holding her delicately. And she remembers that the reason she wanted to be an engineer in the first place is because she wanted to make things. She once wanted to be the kind of adult who could be friends with dolls and robots forever.
Why is she sitting behind this desk? Why is she wearing this grey suit? She stands up and looks at all of her colleagues in their desks next to her. They all look so tired. They all look like they have forgotten something important. Keiko follows MemRE out of the office building. They walk and they roll all the way across the little town to the MemBot warehouse.
Keiko looks around at all the hibernating Membots. Somehow, even with their sleeping metal faces, they look just as tired as her colleagues did. They all look like they have been forgotten. Keiko takes off her grey suit jacket and gets down on the floor next to Mem AA. When she calls for a tool or for a light to be shone in the right spot, Mem RE is there to help her.
The night ends, and daylight comes, streaming through the warehouse window. Keiko and MemRE are still working. Then, night comes again, and Keiko stands up and dusts off her hands. She looks at Mem R.E. and smiles. Mem R.E. lovingly flashes its eyes back up at her. In a little town, somewhere in the corner of the world, the grand clock strikes eleven o'clock.
And a flock of Membots wake up and roll out into the streets. They find the people whose memories they took. The gardener remembers the time when he raced over the hills. The lawyer suddenly remembers his first kiss, gentle and hesitant. The poet remembers her secret hideaway where she could read books by candlelight. The banker remembers remembers that she used to love to sing.
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Chapter 5: How does Keiko's memory reflect on friendship?
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