Sleep story · travel, anonymous
A hotel room somewhere (a sleep story), when you want something simple — for a night when you do not want to think
A room you did not choose, in a city you do not have to know.
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
A tram goes past below, and you hear it before you see it. The air conditioning makes a low sound that you will stop noticing within a minute. The bed has been turned down, and the sheets are cool on the side you have not been lying on.
The room is on the fourth floor, and the window looks out onto a street with one lit shop. The curtains are heavy and close properly, which is rarer than it should be. The pillow is slightly too soft, and you fold it in half, which fixes it.
Let your tongue sit heavy in your mouth. Your eyelids can be too heavy to open, and that is fine.
Let your ribs stop working so hard. Let your calves spread out and flatten.
There is a bottle of water on the bedside table with the cap already loosened. There is a small card on the desk with the breakfast times on it, which do not matter tonight.
Feel one shoulder go heavy, then the other. Your elbows can stop being hinges for now.
Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind? If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
Your fingers can stop doing anything at all. Let your shoulder blades spread out and drop.
Stay with the weight of your body. Let the next part go past without you.
Let your attention settle somewhere low, like your feet. Let them. Slower.
Simple is the point. There is no advanced version to graduate to.
Let the words go now, and take the quiet with you.
12 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for travel, anonymous.
If this story does not settle you, try A field under snow (a sleep story), when you feel restless rather than tired — for a restless night, Sleep story: a fire dying down, after a long day — for winding down or Sleep story: a kitchen late at night, if you are doing this instead of scrolling — for winding down.