Sleep story · quiet, books
A library at closing time (a sleep story), when you are not in the mood — for an overtired night
The last hour, when the lights go down row by row.
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 carpet has flattened every sound in the building down to nothing. Your own book is heavy in your hands, and you have stopped reading it. A book lies open on the next table, face down, which is technically not allowed.
The reading room you are in has one lamp left on, and it is the one above your table. There is a trolley of returned books beside the desk, waiting to be put back. The air smells of paper, dust and floor polish.
Feel one shoulder go heavy, then the other. Feel the weight of your head on the pillow.
Let the mattress take all of it. Feel your heartbeat somewhere far away.
Someone is pushing a trolley two rows away, and you can hear each wheel separately. The clock above the door is the old kind, with a second hand that moves in small jumps.
Feel your cheeks let go. Let your ribs stop working so hard.
Let your forearms get heavy and warm. Let your palms open if they were closed.
The last of the day's light is going out of the high windows. The windows are dark enough now to reflect the room back at you.
Notice how much of you has already stopped moving. Feel the weight of the blanket on your legs.
The library closed twenty minutes ago, and the staff are working along the far shelves, switching off sections. Everything here will still be here tomorrow.
Let the back of your neck lengthen out. Feel your wrists loosen.
Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled. If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
Your chest can be still now. Let your thumbs rest where they landed.
The words can start to blur now. You do not have to count them.
Follow the breath out, and let the next one arrive by itself. Let the breath be the only thing you are doing. Sleep.
Let it all get further away. Stay with the weight of your body. Let the dark be ordinary.
Not being in the mood is a normal starting point.
I will stop here. The quiet will carry on without the words.
18 paragraphs, roughly 3 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for quiet, books.