Sleep story · travel, anonymous
Sleep story: a bus at night, when you are on your own — for winding down
Upper deck, front seat, a city going past that you do not have to join.
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 driver takes the corners slowly, as if the bus were full. The heating comes through the floor and makes your feet warm. A streetlight passes across the ceiling every few seconds.
There is a long stretch of road ahead with nothing on it. You do not have to get off for another twenty minutes. Outside, someone is walking a dog that does not want to be out.
Your fingers can stop doing anything at all. Let your tongue sit heavy in your mouth.
Notice your hips, wide and settled. Your chest can be still now.
The bus stops and starts with a slow, heavy movement. Your ticket is on the seat beside you, already used.
Let your forehead go cool and smooth. Feel the top of your head relax into the pillow.
If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure. Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
Feel your belly rise and fall without any help from you. Feel your heels sink a little into the mattress.
Softer. Let each breath be a little smaller than the last.
Let the room get slightly further away. Let them. Slower now.
Being on your own is not required, but it does make this simpler.
That is the end of the story. Sleep is the next part, and it does not need instructions.
12 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for travel, anonymous.
If this story does not settle you, try A lake before dawn — a slow story for the end of the day, on a low-energy afternoon — for winding down, Sleep story: a field under snow, if you are new to this — for a racing mind or An attic room (a sleep story), when you are not sure this will work — for the hours after a late shift.