Sleep story · warm, winter
A fire dying down (a sleep story), when you are somewhere noisy — for a racing mind
The last hour of a fire, when it stops being a fire and becomes warmth.
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 window is black, and the glass is cold if you touch it. The dog is asleep on the rug, on the side nearest the heat. The logs beside the fireplace are down to the last two.
The ash in the grate is deep and soft and grey at the edges. The fire has stopped being flames and is now mostly red shapes that shift and settle. The room has gone darker than you noticed, and the light is all low and orange.
Your elbows can stop being hinges for now. Your fingers can stop doing anything at all.
Let your toes stop holding on to anything. Let your shoulder blades spread out and drop.
The fire will be out in half an hour and nobody needs to watch it happen. Somewhere in the house, a door closes and everything goes quiet again.
Let your feet get heavy first. Heavier than they need to be. Notice the places where your body touches the bed, and let them be heavy.
Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice. If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
Let your breathing get slower without deciding to slow it. Feel the weight of the blanket on your legs.
Just the breath. You can stop listening properly.
Softer. Let it all get further away. Nothing needs deciding tonight.
Noise is fine. You are not trying to hear anything subtle.
The end. Sleep well.
12 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for warm, winter.
If this story does not settle you, try An attic room — a slow story for the end of the day, when you are waiting for something — for jet lag, Sleep story: an attic room, when you need something unremarkable — for a racing mind or An attic room, when you are doing this for the first time — for a restless night.