Sleep story · travel, cozy
Sleep story: the night train, when you are somewhere unfamiliar — for an overtired night
Somewhere between two cities, in the dark, where nobody needs anything from you.
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 rhythm underneath you is steady enough to lean on. Your bag is wedged under the seat in front, out of the way of your feet. The train left a quarter of an hour ago, and the carriage has already settled into its own quiet.
The lights along the aisle are dimmed to the colour of weak tea. A station passes without stopping — a platform, a lamp, three empty benches, then dark again. Every so often the wheels change their note as they cross a join in the rail.
Let the space between your eyebrows smooth out. Let your lower back sink down into the mattress.
Let your breathing get slower without deciding to slow it. Let your forearms get heavy and warm.
The seat reclines one notch further than you expected it to. There is one other person in this carriage, four rows up, asleep with a coat over their knees.
Feel the weight of the blanket on your legs. Feel the top of your head relax into the pillow.
If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather. If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
Let your palms open if they were closed. Notice the places where your body touches the bed, and let them be heavy.
Nothing here needs following closely. Let the quiet be boring.
Let your breathing do the rest. Slower now. Let the dark be ordinary.
It travels well. Hotels, spare rooms, other people’s sofas.
Let the words go now, and take the quiet with you.
12 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for travel, cozy.