A warm welcome to part two of this magical sleep story trilogy,
Where you are the main character.
In part two,
You will finish your journey on the magical midnight bus before arriving at a very special tavern where your best friend,
And perhaps another companion,
Waits for you.
Before we begin,
We will do a short relaxation session,
Preparing you for a good night's sleep.
Please remember that there is no right or wrong here and there is no particular way that you should feel in these moments Each experience is as unique as us all,
So try to let go of any pressure you might be putting on yourself to feel certain things,
Or perhaps to fall asleep quickly tonight.
It doesn't matter if you do or you don't.
If you simply follow my voice and allow this story to wash over you,
Then you will enter a world of deep relaxation.
Where you can rest and recover.
So,
When you are ready,
Just feel the eyelids becoming heavier and heavier with each passing blink,
Until they gently close.
Remind yourself that this is your time to relax.
There is nothing left to do and nothing left to think about.
The day is done now.
Whatever has happened is already in the past.
And here,
In this moment,
The future is beyond our reach.
So,
If thoughts arise about the day or the week that has been or the days ahead of you,
Then acknowledge that these thoughts are completely normal and valid.
They are part of what makes us human,
Which is a wonderful thing.
But also,
Kindly remind yourself that these thoughts or concerns are of no use to us now and tonight.
There is no need to engage with them.
They are simply thoughts,
As fleeting as shooting stars across a night sky.
You are safe tonight.
And you are protected.
You can be reassured by the fact that my voice and this story will never take you anywhere that is unpleasant.
Your sleepy cat is simply here to guide you on your own twilight adventures and to help you enter a world of magic and peace where you can be completely free.
And now,
We will do a short,
Guided breathing pattern called 3-4-5.
This will allow you to slow down and relax,
Preparing your body and your mind for a wonderful,
Peaceful rest.
When you are ready,
Breathe in through the nose for three,
Hold for 4.
And breathe out for five.
Let all of it go now.
Again,
That's in for three.
Hold for 4.
And release,
Blowing away the thoughts of yesterday,
Today,
And tomorrow.
Again in for three.
.
.
Whole.
And let it go.
Continue to breathe in this way in your own time and with each breath out allow your body to sink just that bit deeper.
And now allow the breath to fall back.
Into a natural rhythm.
Enjoy this new relaxation and peace flowing through your body.
Allow your mind to soften.
And your imagination to come alive.
As you venture into the enchanted tavern.
You feel your awareness coming to your closed eyes now,
And in the distance you hear the faintest of chimes which wakes you very gently from your slumber.
You blink open your eyes and see that you are still aboard the bus.
The rain still patters on the window and the soothing magic still surrounds you.
A small clock above the door reads five minutes to midnight,
And you know that you have almost arrived.
You take a few slow breaths as you allow yourself to wake up a little bit more and reminisce on your adventure so far Brief images flick through your mind,
How you journeyed to the end of your village with nothing but your suitcase,
Your wand,
And a recent letter from your best friend,
Giving instructions on how to summon this magical boss.
Sure enough,
The instructions work.
And before you knew it,
A four-tier midnight blue bus appeared out of thin air.
The friendly conductor welcomed you aboard,
And he knew exactly where you needed to go.
On the bus,
You met the very smiley and very sleepy old lady,
And she poured you the most perfect hot chocolate.
You basked in the magic and the wonder of the bus,
And you remember passing by a wizard's bakery,
Before at last feeling drowsy enough to drift upstairs into your own private cabin and take a short nap.
And now,
You are ready for the next chapter of your adventure.
You can see outside your watery window that you are still weaving through the streets in slow motion.
And as your eyes adjust,
You start to recognize many landmarks of London.
You cross over Tower Bridge,
Taking in its beauty and enormity.
In the distance,
You can see the tip of the shard,
And to your left,
The London Eye.
You twist through Trafalgar Square and straight down Shaftesbury Avenue,
Where all of the West End billboards shine brightly in the night.
You pass by St.
Paul's Cathedral.
And then Buckingham Palace.
The Royal Opera House,
And even King's Cross Station.
Then you can see Westminster Abbey.
And above you is Big Ben.
And gradually,
Now,
You feel the bus coming to a stop and a blue sign flicks on above your bed,
Reading out your name and the following message.
We have arrived at your destination.
Without another hesitation,
You cast a levitation charm on your suitcase and follow it down the thin winding steps of the bus.
Bubbling with a new excitement.
You can hear the faint crackle of the fire below,
And as you reach the bottom of the stairs,
You are met by the smiling conductor.
He hands you a small shiny card and tells you if ever you should need our services again anytime or anywhere just hold that card up to your eyes and whisper find me and we should be there in a jiffy for depending on traffic of course he adds with a chuckle You thank the conductor for his kindness and his hospitality and bid him a good night.
You steal a quick glance at the old lady,
Who still sways by her cauldron of hot chocolate,
And she waves farewell for now with her same sloth-like smile.
You cast one final spell and reignite your ethereal umbrella as you step off the bus into the dark,
Drizzly night.
Your suitcase waits for you on the street and as you turn back you watch the enchanted midnight bus zoom away and,
With a loud cracking sound,
It vanishes as quickly as it first appeared.
All of a sudden,
There is a deep rumbling under your feet.
You see that the two buildings in front of you are separating from one another and making space for a third.
Sliding into the new gap now is a dark brick building with two bay windows.
A black sign swings above you,
Depicting a tall witch with a pointy hat.
Who is stirring a big bubbling cauldron.
As the rumbling stops,
You are met by soft golden lights shining from the windows.
A faint melody being played on the guitar.
A distant conversation.
And muffled laughter.
You smile as you know now that you have finally arrived.
In the next moment,
You shuffle up the damp concrete stairs,
Twist the doorknob,
And step inside the tavern.
You are met by a wave of warmth.
And a deep crackle of the tavern fire perched in the exact middle of the room.
A solo musician plucks peaceful tunes on his guitar.
And there is a gentle hustle and bustle bubbling throughout the tavern.
You have been here with your best friend many times,
And you can see some familiar characters tonight.
There are three wizards sitting around the fire,
All sharing very exaggerated stories of how they've battled with dragons.
Ridden on a rare golden unicorn only found in Romania.
And even invented their own language.
Oh yes,
These three you are very aware of.
Every week there is apparently a different extravagant adventure they have all somehow had.
With a smile,
You think it must be difficult to fit in all of this adventuring,
Because you know for a fact that these three storytellers are in this tavern every single night.
Over by the bar,
You see two witches gossiping together,
Enjoying very colorful and curious cocktails,
And flicking through this week's magical magazine where all of the pictures move.
They are sisters,
You think.
Well,
They certainly look alike,
Both with bushy brown hair,
Bright blue eyes,
And the same mischievous cackle.
Then you spot an old alchemist hunched in the corner to your left.
As usual,
He is mixing together lots of little vials and potions,
As if trying to find some perfect yet elusive formula.
He sips on a floating goblet of purple pumpkin juice,
You have heard him call it.
His nose and fingertips are covered with soot.
But he seems happy enough,
Running his experiments,
And he has never caused anybody any injuries.
Well,
Not that you know of.
As you gaze around the tavern.
The regular barman and owner of this establishment catches your eye.
He gives you a big,
Welcoming smile and gestures over to a table in the far corner,
Where a shadowy figure seems to be waiting for you.
As you walk past him,
The barman assures you he will take your case up to your room and will be back with your usual drink shortly.
You shuffle through the tavern,
Passing by the gossiping sisters and the three wizards by the fire,
And head over to your table.
In the next moment,
This shadowy figure turns to look at you,
And you are met by the comforting smile of your best friend.
They stand up to greet you,
And the two of you share a warm embrace.
It is so good to see them again.
You begin to tell your friend all about your adventure to get here,
And you thank them for the instructions as you dive into the details of your journey.
Suddenly,
There is a quiet cough to your left.
As you look down,
You are met by the big,
Hopeful eyes of the wonderful elf,
Daphne,
Gazing up at you with her soft smile.
And your stomach flips with excitement.
Daphne is such a dear friend of yours.
Together,
You have shared so many beautiful adventures over the years,
And she is one of your closest companions in this magical world.
You kneel down and share a tight hug with Daphne,
Whispering to her that you are so glad she surprised you tonight.
Your best friend tells you that Daphne was so impatient to see you that she hasn't been able to sit still all night.
Daphne gives a muffled chuckle into your chest,
And when she pulls back to look at you again,
You see her eyes are full of tears.
Happy tears,
She insists.
Your best friend helps you into your seat and at the same time the barman returns carrying three fresh drinks for you all Not to worry,
He says,
These ones are on the house.
Just then,
From the corner of your eye,
You see him share a wink with your two friends,
Before all three look directly at you.
It seems like now is the right time to reveal.
The barman whispers as your best friend beams and Daphne shuffles excitedly in her seat that there is someone else rather special here to see you tonight.
The barman walks over to a small wooden door to your right and opens it.
And who should emerge from it but the black and white sleepy cat?
Your very first companion in your wizarding adventure,
And one of your oldest friends.
They run up to you,
Meowing happily,
Tail in the air.
Before you know it,
They are weaving under your seat,
Brushing up against your legs in their familiar figure eight patterns.
You lean down and tickle their tummy as an unspeakable joy washes over you.
You have missed this dear little guardian.
And you know now that with their arrival,
You are completely safe in this enchanted world.
You are positively overwhelmed in the best way,
And you thank the barman,
Daphne,
And your best friend with a grateful smile.
The barman bids you a pleasant evening and quickly returns to his duties,
As you see more and more witches and wizards entering the tavern,
Finding shelter from the rain.
The sleepy cat jumps up onto your seat now and curls up next to you.
You stroke their head softly as they give a slow,
Satisfied nod.
And now you just sit quietly for a moment.
All of you sipping away at your delicious drinks,
And you take in all that has happened tonight.
You breathe slow and deep and enjoy the comfortable silence which is only possible between the closest of friends.
Your gaze wanders round the tavern and you take in the details of this perfect atmosphere.
The soft music The warmth.
And the gentle glow of the many lanterns flickering over your eyes.
You feel so lucky to experience all of this.
And gradually,
A light conversation starts to flow around your table.
And your best friend reveals why they invited you here in the first place.
Tomorrow,
There is an international potions festival right here in this tavern.
It is a competition to be done in pairs,
And they want their trusty potions partner by their side.
There will be witches and wizards traveling from all around the world to enter.
And while you are of course feeling excited,
You are starting to grow a little bit nervous too.
But with a reassuring smile,
Your friend insists that it's all just for fun,
Really.
Winning does not matter to them.
The most important thing is that you are all here together again.
Daphne explains that unfortunately she will not be able to participate in this year's competition.
Because,
As last year's winner,
She is now one of the official judges.
She promises to be fair and not to give you special treatment but of course she will be rooting for you With a clink of your drinks,
You and your friend congratulate Daphne on her new position as judge.
The three of you share a smile and you agree not to leave it too long before you are all reunited again.
You start to hatch grand plans for future adventures,
Places that you would like to see.
And things that you would like to do together.
You allow the conversation to flow easily now as you talk about whatever comes to mind flitting from one topic to the next and still enjoying moments of quiet as you continue to bask in these surroundings.
You continue to sip your drink.
Letting all of the flavours dance across your palate.
And allowing its magical properties to relax your body,
To quieten your mind and to soothe your soul.
And gradually,
Now,
You are starting to feel ever more sleepy.
The warmth of the fire is softening your muscles.
Your mind is so at peace after such a beautiful adventure,
And you feel ready now.
To be honest,
You think that you could drop off to sleep at any moment?
Daphne seems to notice this,
And with a comforting hand on your arm,
She asks if you would like to rest now.
You nod very sleepily,
Feeling a growing heaviness rippling through your entire body,
And your eyes are almost closed.
And so,
With that,
Daphne casts a powerful spell The tavern becomes blurry.
And the colors start to move in slow motion.
You feel yourself turning ever so slightly.
As if floating through the air.
And then you feel your feet land once more,
And as you regain focus,
You are standing right outside your room in the tavern.
Your sleepy cat is cradled in your arms,
Fast asleep and still purring with delight.
With a yawn,
Your best friend unlocks their room next door to yours and they bid you a warm goodnight,
Reminding you that they will knock for you in the morning and you can head down to the festival together.
And with that,
They enter their room and close the door behind them.
You turn to Daphne now and thank her once again for filling your life with magic and wonder.
You share another tight hug.
And she tells you that she,
Too,
Will be back in the morning.
Daphne gives the sleepy cat a gentle kiss on its head before smiling at you one more time,
Snapping her fingers and disappearing from view.
Slowly,
You open your bedroom door and shuffle inside.
You are greeted by the rain on your window and a lovely soft moonlight drifting in onto your bed.
A tiny fireplace rests in one corner,
With soft embers gently crackling,
Keeping the room so cozy and warm.
There is a soft stardust lifting up from the wooden floor.
And it fills your bedroom with a hypnotic glow.
And now.
You place your sleepy cat at the end of the bed and just allow yourself to flop completely You allow your whole body to sink inch by inch into this soft mattress and you wrap yourself up in the cool,
Comforting bedsheets.
You breathe slow and steady,
And give permission to release the day now.
It has been an incredible adventure so far,
But right now there is nothing left for you to do,
And nothing left for you to think about.
Brief images of your evening flash through your mind,
Bringing a permanent smile and a deep feeling of gratitude for all of your friends and for this wonderful world that you call home.
You are drifting now,
Deeper and deeper.
You are at one with this magical land.
You are guarded by the magic of Daphne and by your purring sleepy cat.
You are completely relaxed here and you are ready to rest.
It is safe for you to sleep.
Now.
It is safe for you to sleep now.
It is safe for you to sleep now.
