Sleep story · travel, anonymous
A hotel room somewhere (a sleep story), when you want something simple — for winding down
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
The room is on the fourth floor, and the window looks out onto a street with one lit shop. A tram goes past below, and you hear it before you see it. Your case is open on the luggage rack, half unpacked.
The curtains are heavy and close properly, which is rarer than it should be. The air conditioning makes a low sound that you will stop noticing within a minute. The bathroom light is off, and the fan has finally stopped.
Feel one shoulder go heavy, then the other. Feel your heels sink a little into the mattress.
Let your breathing get slower without deciding to slow it. Feel your wrists loosen.
The pillow is slightly too soft, and you fold it in half, which fixes it. The carpet is the colour of weak coffee and absorbs every sound.
Notice how much of you has already stopped moving. Your fingers can stop doing anything at all.
Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill. If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
Let the space between your eyebrows smooth out. Your eyelids can be too heavy to open, and that is fine.
Softer. Leave it there.
Stay. Let the dark be ordinary. You can stop listening properly.
Simple is the point. There is no advanced version to graduate to.
Let everything get quiet, including this.
12 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for travel, anonymous.