Sleep story · sea, simple
Sleep story: a caravan by the sea, when you are cold and want to be warm — for waking too early
Thin walls, wind outside, and the sound of shingle about fifty metres away.
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 wind pushes against the side of the caravan in long, slow gusts. 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.
The window over the sink has a small crack in the corner that has been there for years. A clock on the wall ticks with a slight rattle on every second. The curtains are thin, and the moon makes a pale rectangle on the floor.
Your ankles can go loose now. Let your feet get heavy first. Heavier than they need to be.
Feel the back of your knees soften into the bed. Feel your heartbeat somewhere far away.
Everything you need is within two metres of where you are lying. The caravan rocks very slightly in the wind, which is more comforting than it sounds.
Your chest can be still now. Let your tongue sit heavy in your mouth.
Let your thumbs rest where they landed. Let the mattress take all of it.
The bed folds out of the seating area and takes up most of the floor. You can hear the shingle moving as the waves pull back.
If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back. If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
Notice the places where your body touches the bed, and let them be heavy. Let your forearms get heavy and warm.
You can stop listening properly. Just the dark.
Let the next part go past without you. Let the quiet be boring. Stay with the weight of your body.
Get a blanket first. Being cold defeats the point.
Let everything get quiet, including this.
14 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for sea, simple.
If this story does not settle you, try The night train (a sleep story), after a difficult conversation — for a racing mind, Sleep story: a lighthouse at the end of a long day, when you want to be left alone — for jet lag or A lake before dawn, when you are on your own — for jet lag.