Sleep story · travel, anonymous
A hotel room somewhere, on a low-energy afternoon — for an overtired night
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 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. The air conditioning makes a low sound that you will stop noticing within a minute.
There is a small card on the desk with the breakfast times on it, which do not matter tonight. The bed has been turned down, and the sheets are cool on the side you have not been lying on. The bathroom light is off, and the fan has finally stopped.
Feel your heels sink a little into the mattress. Let your shoulder blades spread out and drop.
Let your breathing get slower without deciding to slow it. Let your thighs be as heavy as they want to be.
Nobody in this city knows where you are, and that is restful. The carpet is the colour of weak coffee and absorbs every sound.
Let your tongue sit heavy in your mouth. Notice your hips, wide and settled.
Let your calves spread out and flatten. Let your feet get heavy first. Heavier than they need to be.
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.
If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks. Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
Let your lower back sink down into the mattress. Feel the top of your head relax into the pillow.
You can stop listening properly. Sleep.
Just the dark. Let the thoughts come and go without you getting up to answer. Let them.
Low-energy afternoons are what this was written for.
Let this be the last thing you listen to.
14 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for travel, anonymous.
If this story does not settle you, try A lighthouse at the end of a long day, when you are waiting for something — for winding down, A library at closing time, when you have already had a long week — for the hours after a late shift or An attic room, when you are doing this for the first time — for winding down.