Sleep story · warm, winter
A fire dying down — a slow story for the end of the day, when you feel fine and want to stay that way — for a restless night
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 dog is asleep on the rug, on the side nearest the heat. The ash in the grate is deep and soft and grey at the edges. There is a smell of woodsmoke in the room that will still be there tomorrow.
The fire will be out in half an hour and nobody needs to watch it happen. Every few minutes a piece of wood falls in on itself with a small collapse of sparks. There is a blanket over your legs that you did not consciously arrange.
Let your ribs stop working so hard. Let the space between your eyebrows smooth out.
Let your thighs be as heavy as they want to be. Notice your hips, wide and settled.
The heat reaches about a metre from the fire and stops. The logs beside the fireplace are down to the last two.
Feel the weight of the blanket on your legs. Feel your wrists loosen.
Let your breathing get slower without deciding to slow it. Notice how much of you has already stopped moving.
The fire has stopped being flames and is now mostly red shapes that shift and settle. Somewhere in the house, a door closes and everything goes quiet again.
If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too. If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
Let your thumbs rest where they landed. Feel your cheeks let go.
Just the dark. Slower.
Stay. The words can start to blur now. Let the next part go past without you.
Feeling fine is a good reason to do this, not a reason to skip it.
The end. Sleep well.
14 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for warm, winter.
If this story does not settle you, try A garden in the rain — a slow story for the end of the day, if you are fitting this around other people — for an overtired night, A hotel room somewhere (a sleep story), when you want to be left alone — for an overtired night or Sleep story: a lighthouse at the end of a long day, when you want to be left alone — for jet lag.