Sleep story · travel, anonymous
Sleep story: a hotel room somewhere, if you are sceptical about all of this — for a racing mind
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
A tram goes past below, and you hear it before you see it. There is a small card on the desk with the breakfast times on it, which do not matter tonight. The room is on the fourth floor, and the window looks out onto a street with one lit shop.
The air conditioning makes a low sound that you will stop noticing within a minute. There is a bottle of water on the bedside table with the cap already loosened. The bed has been turned down, and the sheets are cool on the side you have not been lying on.
Let your hands be completely still. Notice the places where your body touches the bed, and let them be heavy.
Let your upper arms fall wherever gravity puts them. Let the back of your neck lengthen out.
The bathroom light is off, and the fan has finally stopped. The pillow is slightly too soft, and you fold it in half, which fixes it.
Let the pillow take the whole weight of your head. Notice your hips, wide and settled.
Let the space between your eyebrows smooth out. Let your feet get heavy first. Heavier than they need to be.
Nobody in this city knows where you are, and that is restful. The carpet is the colour of weak coffee and absorbs every sound.
If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure. If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
Feel your wrists loosen. Let your thumbs rest where they landed.
Just the breath. The words can start to blur now.
Let the next part go past without you. Stay with the weight of your body. Softer.
Scepticism is welcome. You do not have to believe anything for this to work.
Goodnight. There is nothing left to do.
14 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for travel, anonymous.
If this story does not settle you, try A field under snow — a slow story for the end of the day, when your attention is scattered — for winding down, A bus at night (a sleep story), when you need to stop thinking about work — for the hours after a late shift or A caravan by the sea, when you are at home and cannot settle — for a restless night.