Sleep story · still, water
Sleep story: a lake before dawn, when you are not in the mood — for a night when you do not want to think
Flat water, no wind, and light that has not arrived yet.
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 mist sits about a foot above the surface and does not move. Nothing on the lake is in a hurry, including you. The water makes a small sound against the posts, once every few seconds.
The sky is the colour of unpolished pewter. There is a coil of rope on the deck, still damp from yesterday. The air is cold in a clean way, and smells of water and cut grass.
Notice the places where your body touches the bed, and let them be heavy. Let your thighs be as heavy as they want to be.
Let the space between your eyebrows smooth out. Notice how much of you has already stopped moving.
Your boat is tied up and moving just enough to be noticeable. The far shore is a dark line with no detail in it yet.
Feel the weight of your head on the pillow. Let your palms open if they were closed.
Your eyelids can be too heavy to open, and that is fine. Let your shoulder blades spread out and drop.
The lake is completely flat, the way it only gets in the hour before the light comes. A single bird crosses the water low and slow, without calling.
Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind? If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
Your elbows can stop being hinges for now. Let your forearms get heavy and warm.
You can stop listening properly. The words can start to blur now.
They will find their own way out. Nothing needs deciding tonight. Let the room get slightly further away.
Not being in the mood is a normal starting point.
That is the end of the story. Sleep is the next part, and it does not need instructions.
14 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for still, water.
If this story does not settle you, try The night train — a slow story for the end of the day, if you have done this a hundred times — for a restless night, A lighthouse at the end of a long day (a sleep story), on a low-energy afternoon — for waking too early or A bus at night (a sleep story), when you want to finish something — for winding down.