Sleep story · rain, green
A garden in the rain (a sleep story), when you are somewhere noisy — for a night when you do not want to think
Steady rain on leaves, and a chair under an awning that stays dry.
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
There is a wooden bench that nobody has sat on for an hour. The earth smells the way it does after a long dry spell. The path has gone darker where it is wet, and there are two small puddles near the step.
The watering can by the tap is full and nobody needs it. The rain on the roof of the awning is a lower sound than the rain on the leaves. Water runs off the gutter in a thin, continuous line.
Feel your cheeks let go. Let your palms open if they were closed.
Feel your heartbeat somewhere far away. Let the mattress take all of it.
There is nothing to do about any of it, which is the good part. A snail is making its way along the bottom of the wall, going nowhere in particular.
Feel the weight of your head on the pillow. Feel the back of your knees soften into the bed.
Notice your hips, wide and settled. Let your feet get heavy first. Heavier than they need to be.
The rain has settled into the kind that will last all afternoon without getting heavier. The leaves in the border are dark and glossy and moving slightly.
Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice. Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
Let your breathing get slower without deciding to slow it. Let your thighs be as heavy as they want to be.
Nothing here needs following closely. Let the dark be ordinary.
Stay with the weight of your body. Let the thoughts come and go without you getting up to answer. Slower now.
Noise is fine. You are not trying to hear anything subtle.
I will stop here. The quiet will carry on without the words.
14 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for rain, green.
If this story does not settle you, try A caravan by the sea, when you cannot concentrate on anything else — for a racing mind, A lake before dawn (a sleep story), when you want something simple — for the hours after a late shift or The house after everyone is asleep (a sleep story), when you are on your own — for an overtired night.