Sleep story · water, slow
A boat at anchor (a sleep story), when you have already had a long week — for jet lag
A small harbour, a rope that creaks, and a boat that moves about a metre in the night.
Lights off. Press begin and let the story read itself to you, at the pace of sleep.
Screen on or off — we suggest dimming it, or simply closing your eyes after the first paragraph.
The story, in full
The blanket smells faintly of salt and diesel. The boat is anchored in eight metres of water, and the chain makes a sound as it moves. The bunk is narrow, and you have the whole of it.
Through the hatch you can see one star, and then the mast crossing it. The cabin is low, and you have to bend your head to get into the bunk. Nothing out here is in a rush, and neither are you.
Notice how much of you has already stopped moving. Your ankles can go loose now.
Your elbows can stop being hinges for now. Feel your belly rise and fall without any help from you.
The water slaps against the side in twos and threes. There is a torch hanging by the hatch, and a chart folded on the table.
Let your lower back sink down into the mattress. Let your upper arms fall wherever gravity puts them.
Notice any part of you that wants this to be over. Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
Let your calves spread out and flatten. Let everything you were holding today stay on the floor beside the bed.
Stay. They will find their own way out.
Stay with the weight of your body. Softer. Follow the breath out, and let the next one arrive by itself.
Long weeks are cumulative. This is a small subtraction.
There is nothing more to follow. Let the rest happen on its own.
12 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for water, slow.
If this story does not settle you, try A bus at night (a sleep story), when you are short on time — for a racing mind, Sleep story: a lake before dawn, when you have been on screens all day — for an overtired night or A bus at night — a slow story for the end of the day, when you are too tired to try hard — for a racing mind.