Sleep story · quiet, home
The house after everyone is asleep — a slow story for the end of the day, after eating too much — for a restless night
The hour when the house belongs to nobody and nothing needs doing.
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 curtains are not quite closed, and there is a thin line of streetlight along the wall. The clock in the hallway ticks slightly behind the one in the kitchen. The floorboards have stopped creaking because nobody is walking on them.
Outside, a car goes past and its headlights sweep across the ceiling, then are gone. Everyone went to bed an hour ago, and the house has stopped making the sounds it makes during the day. The lamp beside you is the only light left on in the whole house.
Let your toes stop holding on to anything. Let your thumbs rest where they landed.
Let the back of your neck lengthen out. Let your forearms get heavy and warm.
The fridge hums on and off in the kitchen, and that is the loudest thing in the building. The radiator clicks once as it cools down.
Notice your hips, wide and settled. Let your forehead go cool and smooth.
You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back. Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
Feel one shoulder go heavy, then the other. Let the pillow take the whole weight of your head.
Softer. Let the next part go past without you.
Let the dark be ordinary. Sleep. Slower.
Do this sitting up, not lying down, if you have just eaten.
That is the end of the story. Sleep is the next part, and it does not need instructions.
12 paragraphs, roughly 2 minutes read slowly aloud. Written for quiet, home.
If this story does not settle you, try A boat at anchor — a slow story for the end of the day, when you are too tired to try hard — for winding down, A garden in the rain, when you need to stop thinking about work — for an overtired night or A field under snow (a sleep story), when you feel restless rather than tired — for the hours after a late shift.