Hercules: The Story of a Girl and Her Pillow

  There once was a pillow. It was big and soft and had a pillowcase covered in polka dots. The pillow’s name was Hercules. No one had ever named him or anything but he thought if he had a name it would be Hercules. The pillow belonged to a girl by the name of Penny. Penny had brown hair and freckles like cinnamon sprinkled across her nose. Ever since she was one, Penny had had this pillow. She got it when she was out on a shopping trip with her parents. She had managed to crawl away and pull down a stack of pillows, Hercules being among them. Hercules was a brand new pillow. It was his third day in the store and he was sure that this day would be the day he would be discovered. As the pillows went tumbling to the ground, Hercules landed right next to Penny. Penny stood on her shaky legs and promptly fell back down onto Hercules. He was big and soft and white as snow. After a fit of giggles she proceeded to drool all over him. It was love at first sight. Since Penny had cleverly salivated on Hercules, her parents had to buy him. The parents, not expecting to buy a pillow, thought about just putting Hercules back in the stack but their morals were too high (and the drool stain was too big) so they walked out of the store with a stack of plates (what they originally came for) and Hercules.

He was Penny’s favorite pillow. When she was 3 she got the chicken pox and Hercules was there. He was big and soft and had a pillowcase decorated in teddy bears. As Penny lay on her bed, trying not to scratch the miserable red dots that covered her skin, she hugged the pillow to her chest. Hercules felt so sad for the girl. He wished for arms so he could hug her and tell her that she would get better soon. But instead he sent healing thoughts towards Penny.

When Penny was five she started preschool. Everyday when she got back she would rush to her room to tell her stuffed animals all about her day. Hercules, of course, would listen in. During her tales she often set her animals in a circle and would sit on Hercules. He was big and soft and entirely pink. He listened way longer and more intently than any of Penny’s stuffed animals. He hummed along as she sang the songs she had learned and silently cheered when Penny proudly proclaimed her alphabet, for she had been stumbling over it all week.

When Penny was 6 she was starting Kindergarten. The night before the first day, her parents had tucked her in and told her not to worry. They told her everyone would love her and she would make many new friends. Penny stayed up all night worrying anyway; she tossed and turned, her head resting on none other than Hercules. He was big and soft and had a pillowcase with green stripes. Hercules wished he could repeat Penny’s parents’ words to her and tell her not to worry but he settled for being as comfy as he could, so Penny would be enticed to sleep.

At age 7, Penny had her first sleepover. Hercules sat proudly by her overnight bag preparing, himself for the monumental occasion. He was big and soft and had a pillowcase with blue hearts. When he arrived at the sleepover he was cast to the side with all the other pillows. He believed that they were meant to socialize but pillows aren’t generally known for their social skills. They mostly just sat there. There was one pillow in a pillowcase made entirely out of glitter that kept trying to make conversation but she didn’t get very far. As the night wore on, the girls made a pillow fort. Hercules sat importantly on the bottom, supporting the makeshift structure. He listened as the girls swapped secrets in their pillow castle. During the night a pillow in a plain, navy pillowcase got lazy and the whole fortress went tumbling down. Hercules was proud to say he had stayed alert all night, not quivering once, while all the other pillows fell asleep.

When Penny was in the third grade, she got a bad case of head lice. It was a distressing time in Penny’s young life. Hercules sat anxiously on the bed; he was big and soft and had an orange pillowcase crawling with lice. He could hear Penny’s wails from the bathrooms and the fumes from the special shampoo wafted over Hercules. If he could have plugged his nose, he would have. As Hercules waited for the girl; Penny’s mother walked in. She had just spent the last hour contacting the mothers of Penny’s friends, warning them about the outbreak. Apparently, Penny had gotten this ailment from her BFFLAB (Best Friends For Life and Beyond) when they “shared a hat that one time”. Penny’s mom grabbed unsuspecting Hercules and stripped him of the infected pillowcase and with intense purpose, stuffed Hercules into the washer. Hercules figured this was what a water park felt like… if the water park’s only attraction was to spin you as many times as possible and make you sick. When the washer finished, Hercules was wimpy and wet and all bent out of shape. Penny’s mother promptly pulled the miserable Hercules out of the machine of torture into the dryer. Hercules enjoyed this much more than the washer. It was warm and though it was still spinning him all over the place he could feel himself getting all big and fluffy. As soon as the dryer was done Hercules was placed back on the bed and was prepared to support Penny’s head (even if her hair did smell lethal).