Sleep story · travel, anonymous
A hotel room somewhere, when you are on your own — for the hours after a late shift
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
There is a small card on the desk with the breakfast times on it, which do not matter tonight. The curtains are heavy and close properly, which is rarer than it should be. The room is on the fourth floor, and the window looks out onto a street with one lit shop.
The bathroom light is off, and the fan has finally stopped. There is a bottle of water on the bedside table with the cap already loosened. A tram goes past below, and you hear it before you see it.
Feel your heartbeat somewhere far away. Feel the weight of the blanket on your legs.
Let your breathing get slower without deciding to slow it. Your eyelids can be too heavy to open, and that is fine.
The air conditioning makes a low sound that you will stop noticing within a minute. The pillow is slightly too soft, and you fold it in half, which fixes it.
Let your lower back sink down into the mattress. Feel the back of your knees soften into the bed.
Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again. If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
Let your toes stop holding on to anything. Let your palms open if they were closed.
Just the weight. Let them.
Let the breath be the only thing you are doing. Follow the breath out, and let the next one arrive by itself. Slower now.
Being on your own is not required, but it does make this simpler.
Goodnight. There is nothing left to do.
12 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for travel, anonymous.
If this story does not settle you, try A library at closing time — a slow story for the end of the day, when you want to be left alone — for a restless night, A fire dying down — a slow story for the end of the day, when you have been on screens all day — for a restless night or Sleep story: a library at closing time, when you have been putting it off — for the hours after a late shift.