Sleep story · travel, cozy
Sleep story: the night train, when you are too tired to try hard — for the hours after a late shift
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
Outside, the fields go past without anything in them you need to see. Every so often the wheels change their note as they cross a join in the rail. The window is cool against the side of your face.
The train left a quarter of an hour ago, and the carriage has already settled into its own quiet. The seat reclines one notch further than you expected it to. Your bag is wedged under the seat in front, out of the way of your feet.
Let the back of your neck lengthen out. Feel the weight of the blanket on your legs.
Feel your belly rise and fall without any help from you. Notice the places where your body touches the bed, and let them be heavy.
The rhythm underneath you is steady enough to lean on. The heating is on low, and the air smells faintly of clean metal and old upholstery.
Let your shoulder blades spread out and drop. Let your breathing get slower without deciding to slow it.
Feel your wrists loosen. Let your tongue sit heavy in your mouth.
There is one other person in this carriage, four rows up, asleep with a coat over their knees. The lights along the aisle are dimmed to the colour of weak tea.
If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own. If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
Feel your cheeks let go. Feel one shoulder go heavy, then the other.
Let your breathing do the rest. Stay.
You do not have to count them. Leave it there. Nothing needs deciding tonight.
Too tired to try hard is exactly the right amount of tired for this.
There is nothing more to follow. Let the rest happen on its own.
14 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for travel, cozy.
If this story does not settle you, try Sleep story: an attic room, when you feel fine and want to stay that way — for jet lag, A hotel room somewhere (a sleep story), when you cannot concentrate on anything else — for the hours after a late shift or A garden in the rain — a slow story for the end of the day, when you feel restless rather than tired — for waking too early.