Sleep Story | Frozen Dreams

Immerse yourself in the frozen world of Frostpunk with this captivating sleep story. Join Adelaide, a brave nurse, as she navigates the brutal cold amidst a society on the brink of collapse. This tale, filled with survival, dreams, and love, is perfect for relaxing and unwinding before sleep. This sleep story includes 25 minutes of narration with soothing music in the background that will continue to play after the story is complete.

Music: Langvaga by Strom on Epidemic Sound from Canva Pro

Transcript

Welcome to Jane's Dreamy Bookshelf.

In tonight's sleep story,

We will explore the frozen steampunk world inspired by the game Frostpunk.

In this frozen outpost,

Where staying warm is a constant struggle,

We will follow a brave young nurse as she navigates the brutal cold amidst a society on the brink of collapse,

As workers struggle to stay alive and keep the steam-powered generator running.

After the story is complete,

A peaceful winter ambience will play as you continue on your journey towards sleep.

Let's begin.

As the wet snow splashes beneath her worn,

Fur-lined leather boots,

The sound echoing down the narrow empty street that stretches out before her.

Adelaide shivers and hugs her arms tightly around her body.

Gas-powered street lamps flicker in the fog,

Their light barely piercing the darkness of early morning.

The cold air is crisp and absent of any smells.

Her face is covered entirely by a scarf,

Except for a few tiny gaps which sting from being exposed to the cold,

Bitter air.

Brass goggles protect her eyes,

But also obscure her peripheral vision.

She knows there are tall,

Narrow houses lining both sides of the street,

She just can't see them,

Unimpressive two-story homes with small frosted windows.

Their hurried construction,

Masked by snow and ice,

They are not like the beautiful Victorian house she had in London when she was a child.

As she makes her way hurriedly down the street,

She tries not to think about how much she misses that house.

She longs to sit again by the fireplace with her sister and mother,

Both lost to her and her father during the dangerous journey they had to undertake to this northern outpost.

She misses laying in the hammock outside with her sister during the hot summer nights and looking up at the stars.

She can't remember the last time she saw the stars,

Or the sun,

Their disappearance seeming to coincide with the loss of half of her family.

The sun is only a dim source of light for her in this deep valley with its ice walls and perpetual cloud cover.

She is cold all the time now,

Except at night when she sleeps in her cot,

Piled under blankets and furs.

The moment she reluctantly leaves her bed in the morning,

The cold begins to seep into her patched clothes.

Thankfully,

She has a short walk to her work.

With every step,

She begins to warm up as she nears the center of town,

Where the towering generator is located.

The noise from it increases steadily as she approaches,

Until she feels a slight reverberation in her chest.

The feeling is reassuring,

Knowing that it's providing a constant source of warmth and safety.

Fire and steam clouds billow from the top of it,

Defying nature and all her cruelty.

She gives the generator a grateful look before heading inside the rugged,

Industrial-style infirmary with its multifaceted roof.

A warm blast of air greets her as she slips in a side door and begins to unravel her many layers of outer clothing in front of a coal-burning stove.

As she washes her hands in the basin,

She lingers under the warm water,

Flexing and cupping her stiff fingers until she can feel them again.

She sighs as she places a clean apron over her brown dress and neatly pins up her side braid with a bobby pin,

Tucking it under her cap.

Squaring her shoulders,

She approaches the waiting room,

Already filled with patients,

Cuddled together on wooden benches,

Their faces etched with pain and desperation.

Her first patient is a young boy named Thomas,

With a bad cough.

She learns that he's an orphan,

Working in the cookhouse.

Suddenly,

Adelaide leads him to one of the small treatment rooms.

The iron-framed bed creaks as Thomas climbs onto it,

His eyes wide with fear as he coughs and gasps for air.

It's going to be alright,

Thomas,

Adelaide tells him,

Brushing a lock of his hair away from his face.

She props him up in the bed and begins to wrap him in extra blankets,

His frail body still shivering despite the layers.

I'll be right back with some tea and medicine for you.

As she prepares the kettle for tea,

She hears the workers,

Bustling about in the boiler room downstairs,

Shoveling coal to keep the heaters working,

Day and night.

She is thankful to work in such a warm place.

Outside,

She can hear the thunderous steps of an automaton passing by.

They are the newest addition to their small outpost.

Steam-powered robots that tower over the people and walk about on long,

Thin legs.

The automatons have helped immensely,

Taking over some of the factory work and saving people from being exposed to the extremely cold temperatures.

Despite this,

They can be dangerous,

And she fears that one day,

Someone will accidentally be crushed under their enormous weight and size.

As she returns to Thomas,

He gives her a weak smile as he takes the steaming cup from her and swallows his medicine.

She instructs him to drink it slowly and to not rush back outside,

Hoping this break will give him strength to heal.

She wishes she could keep him here all day,

But knows it's impossible with a waiting room full of people.

As she pulls the curtain to his room closed,

A commotion at the entrance catches her attention.

Two men burst through the doors,

Carrying a third between them.

Frost clings to their heavy coats and goggles,

And clouds of steam begin to evaporate off of them inside the warm building.

Nurse,

One of them calls out,

His voice muffled by a thick scarf,

We've got another one,

Frostbite,

Bad.

Adelaide hurries over,

Her heart racing.

As they lay the man on an empty bed and unwrap his scarf,

She catches her first glimpse of his face.

Despite the pallor of his skin and the ice cresting his beard,

She is struck by his strong jawline and the furrow of concern between his brows.

What's happened?

She asks,

As she begins to remove his frozen outer layers.

The men explain that he was working on the ice wall,

Gathering wood,

And was caught in a storm last night.

They found him half buried in the snow this morning.

Adelaide nods,

Her practiced hands working swiftly to assess the damage.

His skin feels like ice to the touch,

And his fingers and toes are a ghastly shade of white,

The skin already blistered and cracked from frostbite.

She immediately begins to undress him and wrap him in dry warm blankets,

As she calls out for a warm bath to be drawn,

Determined to save the stranger from the clutches of winter.

As the men carry him into an adjoining room and help lower him into the brass tub,

The man's eyes flutter open.

They are a startling shade of green,

Like sea glass caught in sunlight.

He asks where he is,

His voice rough.

You're safe now,

Adelaide soothes,

Her hand gentle on his arm,

As she kneels beside the bath.

You're in the infirmary,

I'll be taking care of you.

He manages a weak smile before he closes his eyes again,

And she feels an inexplicable tug at her heart,

Which she promptly dismisses as simple concern for a patient.

The two men smile at her gratefully and leave him in her capable hands.

After only a few minutes in the warm water,

The man's skin begins to turn a healthy shade of pink.

She adds more coal to the stove,

Warming up the room even more so he's not chilled when he gets out.

With the help of an orderly,

They lift him out of the bath and dry him off gently but quickly before covering him up with blankets and bed.

She then turns to the shelves stocked with medical supplies,

Retrieving clean bandages and carefully applying one in between each finger and toe before wrapping his hands and feet up.

Over the next few days,

Adelaide finds herself spending more time than necessary at the bedside of the harvester,

Whose name,

She learns,

Is Everett.

As feeling returns to his extremities and color to his cheeks,

She discovers a quick wit beneath his gruff exterior and a kindness that belies his imposing stature.

Everett tells her of his life working on the ice wall,

Of the beautiful trees frozen in time that he harvests.

He speaks of the dangers and the beauty of working outside,

Of auroras that dance across the night sky,

And how the ice wall groans like a living thing.

With a deep sadness in his eyes,

He confides in her that he is alone in this world,

His parents having died during the journey,

And how he is now determined to stay alive to honor their memory.

In turn,

Adelaide tells him of her work in the infirmary,

Of the lives saved and lost.

She sadly speaks to him of the loss of her mother and sister,

And her dream that one day when all of this is over,

That she can return to their house in London.

As the days turn to weeks,

Adelaide finds herself looking forward to their conversations more than she cares to admit.

Everett's presence has become a bright spot in the long,

Grueling hours of her shifts.

She tells herself it's merely the interest of a caregiver in her patient's recovery,

But her racing heart betrays her every time their eyes meet.

Everett too seems to light up whenever Adelaide approaches.

His green eyes follow her as she moves about the ward,

And he always has a smile ready no matter how much pain he might be in.

The other nurses begin to tease Adelaide gently,

But she brushes off their knowing looks with practiced indifference.

She wants to protect herself from further heartache.

She's terrified of the pain she'd feel if she lost someone close to her again.

As Everett's strength returns and the time for his discharge draws near,

Adelaide feels a rising sense of unease.

She has grown accustomed to his presence,

To the sound of his laugh,

And the warmth of his gaze.

The thought of him returning to the ice wall,

Facing the dangers of exposure once more fills her with a dread she can't explain.

On the eve of his departure,

Adelaide finds Everett sitting up in bed,

Staring out the frosted window.

The glow of the gas lamps cast a warm light across his features,

Softening the lines of worry that had begun to crease his brow.

Hello,

He says as she approaches,

A smile spreading across his face.

I was hoping to see you before I left.

Adelaide's heart skips a beat.

I wanted to make sure you were fully prepared for your journey,

She says,

Trying to keep her voice steady.

The weather is treacherous right now.

Everett's smile fades slightly.

I,

Yes it is,

He agrees,

But it's the life I know.

The trees don't harvest themselves after all.

A painful silence falls between them,

Filled only by the ticking of the clockwork and the distant hiss of steam.

Adelaide busies herself with checking Everett's bandages one last time,

Acutely aware of the warmth of his skin beneath her hands.

Adelaide,

Everett says softly,

Catching her hand in his.

She looks up,

Startled by the youth of her first name.

I,

I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me.

I was only doing my job,

She replies,

Her voice barely above a whisper.

Everett shakes his head.

It was more than that and we both know it.

He takes a deep breath,

As if preparing himself for something.

I don't want to leave without telling you how I feel.

These past weeks,

Getting to know you,

It's been the best time of my life.

I think,

I think I've fallen in love with you.

Adelaide's breath catches in her throat.

She stares at Everett,

Her mind whirling like the gears of a runaway clock.

All the emotions she has been suppressing come rushing to the surface,

Overwhelming her in their intensity.

Everett,

I,

She begins,

But the words stick in her throat.

He smiles sadly.

I know it's foolish,

A harvester and a nurse.

We come from different worlds,

But I couldn't bear the thought of leaving without at least telling you.

In that moment,

Adelaide makes a decision that will change the course of her life.

With trembling hands,

She cups Everett's face and presses her lips to his.

The kiss is soft,

Tentative at first,

But quickly deepens as years of loneliness and unspoken longing pour out between them.

When they finally part,

Both breathless,

Adelaide rests her forehead against his,

And says,

I want to be with you,

I'm in love with you too.

We can figure out the rest together.

Everett's eyes crinkle with joy.

Are you sure?

He asks.

Adelaide laughs,

A sound of pure happiness.

Yes,

I've never been more sure of anything in my life.

Everett pulls her close,

His laughter rumbling in his chest.

Outside,

Snow begins to fall,

Blanketing the outpost in a soft white glow,

But inside the infirmary,

Wrapped in each other's arms,

Adelaide and Everett find a warmth that no frost can touch,

And a love that would endure long after the ice walls have melted and the last steam engines have fallen silent.

Reviews

Thankyou, for this Story. It was different. Interesting. Your voice is perfect for storytelling. 😌🙏🌻🐱🐾🐱🐾