Sleep story: a caravan by the sea, when the house is busy — for winding down

The story, in full

The window over the sink has a small crack in the corner that has been there for years. The curtains are thin, and the moon makes a pale rectangle on the floor. The whole caravan smells of salt, gas and clean bedding.

You can hear the shingle moving as the waves pull back. The sea is about fifty metres away, over a bank of shingle. There is a torch by the door in case you need to walk to the toilets in the night.

Now feel your whole body at once, lying here, being held up. Let your forearms get heavy and warm.

Let the back of your neck lengthen out. Your ankles can go loose now.

A clock on the wall ticks with a slight rattle on every second. Everything you need is within two metres of where you are lying.

Let your toes stop holding on to anything. Feel your cheeks let go.

Feel the weight of your head on the pillow. Let your feet get heavy first. Heavier than they need to be.

The caravan rocks very slightly in the wind, which is more comforting than it sounds. The wind pushes against the side of the caravan in long, slow gusts.

Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it. If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.

Let your upper arms fall wherever gravity puts them. Feel the top of your head relax into the pillow.

You can stop listening properly. Slower.

Let it all get further away. Let the room get slightly further away. Nothing needs deciding tonight.

It works with other people in the house. You do not need silence.

I will stop here. The quiet will carry on without the words.

14 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for sea, simple.