Use your inner eye to gaze into the future and into your deepest truths in tonight's magical bedtime story.
Sleep in Sorcery is a folklore and fantasy inspired sleep series.
My name is Laurel and I'll be your guide on tonight's fantastical journey.
Sleep in Sorcery is one part bedtime story,
One part guided meditation,
And one part dreamy adventure.
Tonight's story features a built in body scan,
Meditation and sleep countdown to send you peacefully into a good night's sleep.
In tonight's story,
You'll climb the winding steps to the tallest tower of a thousand year old castle,
Which now serves as a school of sorcery.
There,
You'll attend your first lesson in the ancient art of divining the future.
Gaze into a crystal ball,
Turn over a series of tarot cards,
Read tea leaves,
And analyze the movement of the stars.
Before we begin,
Take a deep breath in.
Exhale completely.
As you breathe deeply,
Notice how the breath feels in the body.
The cool air that travels in through the nose,
Down your throat,
Filling up the belly.
And the warm air that travels outward on your exhale.
Maybe rest a hand on your belly,
And maybe rest the other hand on your heart.
Feel the subtle warmth that builds where your hands meet your body.
And feel the rise and fall of the belly with each breath in and out.
Close your eyes if you haven't already.
Clear your mind.
As thoughts arrive,
Simply acknowledge them and then let them go.
Concentrate on my voice for as long as it suits you to do so.
But whenever you're ready,
Feel free to let go of the voice and journey into sleep.
Now with your eyes closed,
Awaken your inner sight.
Come with me.
Soar over the rooftops of your city or town,
Over the quiet country under the light of the moon,
Over a vast body of water,
A lake,
Toward a secret place of ancient magic hidden in the emerald highlands.
The aroma of fresh breads,
Cakes,
And pudding lingers in the air even as the remains of the evening's feast vanish magically before your eyes.
You are sated and content,
An after supper haze falling over you as you lean back in your chair.
The grand hall of the castle comes alive with chatter as a few hundred students begin to stand,
Stretch and slink away to their dormitories across the grounds.
You need a few moments before getting to your feet.
So comfortable and cozy after such a decadent meal.
With a sigh realizing that you won't simply return to your dormitory this evening,
You gather the will to stand from your chair.
Your best friend,
Charlotte,
Is anxiously hovering,
Hinting that you'd better get a move on if you're to make it to class on time.
Whoever decided to have class in the evening just after supper clearly didn't think things through,
You remark.
But Charlotte,
Ever the consummate overachiever,
Insists that the art of divination,
The subject of your class,
Requires a special set of conditions.
Astrological study,
For example,
Requires practitioners to be able to see the stars and celestial bodies,
She explains,
Conditions you can only count on after the sun goes down.
You roll your eyes at the obviousness of her explanation,
But you do find Charlotte's investment in her studies quite endearing.
She's a good friend,
And it doesn't hurt to be in close with the all-around teacher's pet.
Dragging yourself from the feast table,
You follow Charlotte,
Whose robes swish behind her as she whirls around toward the exit of the hall,
Weaving in and out of groups of meandering students.
You pass under the flickering of hundreds of floating candles through the stained glass.
The sunset dances in vibrant hues.
You spare a glance at one of the tall decorated windows.
It depicts the madness of Merlin,
The renowned wizard clad in leaves,
Vines,
And animal skins dashes through a thick forest of alder trees.
One of your favorite things about the magical school is that all the images,
Paintings,
Tapestries,
And even the stained glass move of their own accord.
You almost lose yourself in the beautiful interplay of glass and light when you feel Charlotte tugging at your robes to keep up.
Escaping the throngs of cheerful yet somnolent students,
You follow Charlotte,
Who takes the steps of the grand staircase two at a time to stay ahead.
The torches lining the castle's walls spring to light as evening settles around the Highland Castle.
The splendid gothic architecture of this part of the castle is even more picturesque in the contrast of the fire's glow.
Bounds ahead of the droves headed for their dormitories,
You and Charlotte begin to ascend the labyrinth of staircases that join the near countless floors of the enchanted castle.
Trusting that she knows the way to the east tower in which your class will be held,
You follow dutifully.
As you climb the stairs,
You note paintings of idyllic landscapes,
Across which caravans of travelling players trundle,
Or shepherds guide their flocks of sheep.
A painting of a ship on choppy waters,
Tempest tossed against a brilliantly colorful,
Expressive sky.
A row of portraits of famous witches,
Wizards,
Sorcerers,
And alchemists.
The only one you recognize is Merlin himself,
The school's founder,
Who is depicted in many artworks across the castle.
You must remember to pay better attention in your magical history lessons so you can identify the others.
The sounds of students chattering grow more and more faint as you continue the journey upward.
You hardly knew the castle was so large.
You feel as though the vaulted ceiling slips further out of reach with each subsequent level you ascend.
Finally,
Reaching the topmost level of the heart of the castle,
Charlotte turns down a long corridor,
Also lined with torches and artworks.
A series of elegant tapestries along the walls depict lush gardenscapes inhabited by luminous white unicorns.
You've never been in this hallway before,
And you find it absolutely captivating.
Through a wide,
Clear window at the very end of the hall,
You can already see a shining,
Crescent moon.
Just past the edge of the largest unicorn tapestry,
There's a pointed archway that wasn't obvious before.
Charlotte beckons you through it,
To the stone steps of a narrow,
Spiral staircase.
This is the east tower,
Then.
You know from observing the castle by boats on the massive lake in your first school year that the east tower is the most architecturally unique of the four.
While the others are standardized with cylindrical stone bases and conical roofs,
The east tower stands apart.
The stone base is narrow,
Almost precarious-looking,
And widens gradually to a broad enclosure,
Wherein must be the divination classroom.
Then it tapers to a point at the top,
With a decadent copper spire,
Now green with oxidation.
The spire wraps a decorative coil,
Intended to invoke two dragons' tails intertwined.
In a lesson on cryptozoology,
Or perhaps magical history,
You sometimes struggle to keep your subjects straight.
You learned about Merlin's prophecies.
He was called on by the king to determine why efforts to build a castle on his land kept failing and the foundation kept crumbling into the earth.
Merlin had a vision of two dragons,
One white,
One red,
Fighting beneath the surface of the earth.
Some believe the two dragons represented the warring sides of a long-ago conflict,
But the teachers at the School of Sorcery have a different opinion.
The two tails appear on the spire of the divination tower to represent the unification of many opposites found in the study of the enchanted arts.
Past and future,
Destiny and self-determination,
Science and magic,
Light and dark.
You like this interpretation very much.
Emerging from the top of the spiral staircase,
You step into a wondrously appointed chamber.
You are within the wide enclosure that sits precisely atop the center of the tower's base,
Perfectly balanced.
But to you,
It appears you've stepped straight into the sky,
For you see no ceiling to the chamber.
Instead,
The walls seem to blend seamlessly into the darkness of the night,
And the room is lit not with candles alone,
But by starlight and the hovering sliver of moon.
Charlotte whispers to you that it's just an enchantment.
You won't step right out into the night.
The ceiling is still there,
But it's bewitched to reflect the night sky outside.
Marvelous,
You think?
And it makes it that much simpler to observe the motions of the stars.
Once you've regained your orientation and become accustomed to the brilliantly enchanted setting,
You take in the rest of the chamber around you.
The walls are lined with cozy-looking armchairs,
Puffs,
And chaises.
Fluffy cushions rest on the floor.
The air is perfumed with lavender,
Thyme,
And neroli.
Through the feast and the long climb up the stairs,
You feel your eyelids growing heavy with the added relaxing fragrance.
A fire burns low on the other side of the room,
Next to which is a small round table covered in a shimmering purple-black cloth.
It's only now that you realize a woman is seated at the table.
Charlotte seems to notice her before you do.
Madam Cassandra,
Charlotte says,
We're so looking forward to our first lesson.
Madam Cassandra smiles warmly,
Her face half lit by the fire.
Before her,
On the table,
Sit a clear crystal orb reflecting the flickering flames and the moonlight in its depths,
And an oversized deck of cards.
She herself is draped in veils and tassels,
Dark hair falling in loose curls beneath a sheer scarf.
You have a hard time determining her age in the dim lighting.
She welcomes you and tells you to make yourselves comfortable while you wait for the rest of the students to arrive.
You follow Charlotte to claim seats.
Charlotte takes a wing-backed armchair that makes her look very small compared to its size.
You stretch out on an embroidered chaise lounge and gaze back up at the starry ceiling.
Continuing to glance around the chamber,
You notice curved shelves lining the curved walls,
Each covered with arcane instruments of glass,
Crystal,
And brass.
You recognize small telescopes and an astrolabe from an illustration in another class's textbook,
But many of the other instruments are entirely unfamiliar to you.
Your classmates begin to arrive slowly,
Two or three at a time,
And take their seats at the perimeter of the room.
Though you can hear students talking to each other as they climb the winding stair,
A hush seems to fall over every person who enters,
So overcome they are by the impression of the room.
Footsteps are muffled by the heavy Persian rugs across the floor.
There's a tea kettle warming over the fire,
And it whistles faintly,
Sending steam in spirals across the room.
You watch Cassandra cross to the fire and remove the kettle.
She pours the steaming water into a porcelain teapot to steep.
Indeed,
A kind of haze seems to settle over the whole chamber,
And you are incredibly comfortable and content in your cushioned lounge.
Finally,
As a bell chimes in another tower to signal the hour,
Ringing across the spires of the castle,
Cassandra's warm voice issues a wide welcome to all the students in the class.
You have chosen,
She says,
To study the ancient art and wisdom of augury,
Divination,
Clairvoyance,
The second sight.
With each name,
She glides across the carpets,
A trail of billowing scarves and veils behind her.
In our evening lessons,
We'll explore the many means of divining the future,
But this is only one facet of your study.
Indeed,
We who have the sight deal often in prediction and prophecy,
But we are not mere fortune tellers.
We access the deepest,
Most universal sources of wisdom,
We reveal the most profound insights,
Most universal truths.
These live in the past,
The present,
And yes,
The future.
Cassandra's voice is cannerous and resonant,
Floating on the spirals of steam.
Tonight,
In your first lesson,
I will introduce you to the most common forms of divination,
She continues,
Cartomancy,
Crystal gazing,
Astrology,
And of course,
Tassiography.
A swell of whisper around the edges of the room.
A student pipes up to ask what tassiography is.
Before Madame Cassandra can respond,
Charlotte chimes in,
Explaining that tassiography is the art of interpreting tea leaves,
Wine sediment,
Or coffee grounds as a means of divination.
Cassandra wears a keen smirk and nods,
Elevating Charlotte's interjection.
With this,
Cassandra pulls a wand from her belt,
Gives it a wave,
And summons the steeping teapot.
At the same time,
Round tables identical to the one by the fire spontaneously appear at intervals around the room.
There's one for each pair of students,
And each table is decked with two crystal balls,
A heavy textbook,
And two tiny porcelain teacups,
Which rest on a glittering tablecloth.
With another wave of her hand,
Cassandra conducts the teapot around the perimeter,
Stopping to pour a serving of tea into each little cup.
When yours is poured,
You inhale the scent of lemon and ginger.
Following Cassandra's instructions,
You and your classmates begin to drink the tea.
It's the perfect temperature,
And it tastes simply divine and utterly soothing.
You fight to keep your eyelids open as you sink warm into your seat.
When you take in your final sip,
You allow the tiny tea leaves to sink and stick to the bottom and sides of the cup.
You rotate the cup a few times in your hands,
Trying curiously to identify a recognizable shape in the clumps of damp tea leaves.
You can't seem to make anything out,
But when Cassandra instructs you to exchange cups with your partner,
And you and Charlotte pass your teacups to each other,
She emits a tiny gasp.
She identifies the shape of a bird in your tea leaves.
You crane your neck and squint your eyes over her shoulder.
More enough,
When she holds the cup at a particular angle,
It does resemble a bird in flight.
According to the glossary of symbols in the divination textbook,
Which Charlotte now references enthusiastically,
Birds represent the possibility of a journey ahead with the promise of happiness and prosperity.
You gaze into Charlotte's teacup now.
It takes a few turns and a few moments,
But after a while,
You can make out a thin line with a burst of messy leaves at the top.
It almost resembles a candlestick.
You turn to the glossary,
Which indicates that candles represent knowledge and enlightenment.
Charlotte beams.
After the first exercise is complete,
Madame Cassandra summons the teacups with her wand.
All dozen or so of them come together in a pyramid in midair.
Then,
Poof,
Out of existence with a smattering of purple smoke,
The spectacle elicits a smattering of polite applause.
Now you'll move on to the next practice,
An introduction to cartomancy,
The art of fortune-telling using cards.
For this exercise,
However,
Cassandra will provide a demonstration,
Which requires a volunteer.
You can feel Charlotte's eagerness flying off her like sparks as her hand shoots into the air.
One or two other students hesitantly raise their hands as well,
But as Cassandra surveys the options,
Her eyes fall and rest upon you.
You can feel a kind of electricity in the air as her eyes seem to pierce you.
She asks your name.
You offer it,
And Cassandra smiles.
She gestures for you to come up to the fire and take a seat at her table.
You do as she asks,
Moving through the perfumed air of the classroom.
The fire is gentle,
Giving off a pleasant warmth as you sit at the table.
Cassandra takes her seat.
She gingerly picks up the thick deck of cards.
You notice that the back of the top card is decorated with illustrated suns,
Moons,
And stars.
She instructs you to relax,
Though you feel somewhat self-conscious with all the eyes of your classmates upon you.
This is easy to do in the cozy atmosphere of the room.
She shuffles the deck quietly,
Eyes still upon you,
And bids you to think of a question.
It can be a question about a relationship or a dynamic in your life,
About what the future holds,
Or it can be as simple as asking the cards,
What messages do you have for me today?
Focus on your question now,
She says.
A question rises to the top of your mind as if floating to the surface of a pool of clear water.
You nod.
Setting the deck down,
Cassandra has you cut the cards.
Then,
As if in slow motion,
She reveals the first card and places it before you.
The card is titled The Magician.
It depicts a figure,
Probably a man,
Holding aloft a wand.
He stands before a table upon which rests a chalice,
A disc bearing a pentacle,
A sword,
And a staff.
A verdant garden grows around him and seems to burst from the edges of the card,
Flowering with roses and wildflowers.
He looks not unlike the Merlin of the painting and stained glass within the castle.
Like the artworks,
The drawn elements of the card also move,
And the magician shoots a stream of sparks from his wand.
What does it mean,
You ask Cassandra.
She explains that the magician,
Naturally,
Is a very powerful archetype.
As you have learned in your studies so far,
And as you will continue to learn,
The magic user has near limitless potential at their fingertips.
With a wave of a wand,
The magician can transmute the elements,
Levitate objects,
Or conjure things forth from the ether.
The magician can solve even the trickiest of problems with the tools of enchantment.
But with that power comes a catch.
For at times,
What looks like a magical solution to your problems is merely an illusion.
It pays to look closely at anything that seems too good to be true.
And it's important to do the hard work of life and humanity when it comes to solving problems.
You mull this over in your mind,
In concert with the question that rings in your ears.
You're not quite sure yet how it all fits,
But something about the card is undeniably resonant.
Once Cassandra senses that you're ready to move on,
She pulls another card from the deck.
It's the Six of Cups.
The card,
Whose figures move more freely than the magician,
Depicts two young children,
Frolicking before a house in the background.
Each of the children bears a burnished goblet from which flowers appear to bloom.
At the scene,
Four other cups stand,
Flowers spilling from their mouths.
An older figure,
Cloaked,
Walks away from the children toward the background.
Cassandra explains that the Six of Cups is a relishing of childhood,
Innocence,
And blissful youth.
It emphasizes living in the moment rather than becoming lost in the past or too concerned with the future.
For once the moment is gone,
It's gone.
She pulls another card,
The Wheel of Fortune.
But the card is reversed,
Appearing upside down to you.
At first,
This concerns you.
Does this mean you have the opposite of fortune coming to you?
Bad luck?
But Cassandra,
Seeing your worry immediately puts your mind at ease.
The reversed Wheel of Fortune,
At least as she sees it in conjunction with your other cards and with what she can see in you,
Suggests that you might have an unforeseen change coming to you.
This change may very well be for the better,
Or it may present unique challenges.
The true test is in how you react to those challenges or to the swiftness of change.
The card indeed is preparing you to take control of your destiny,
Accept adjustment with grace,
And find peace in the universe's ever-rotating Wheel of Fortune.
The next card Cassandra draws is the Ace of Wands.
From a swirl of clouds a single hand emerges,
Grasping a wand.
Behind the central image,
A range of mountains studs the background.
Cassandra smiles.
This card,
She says,
Represents the acts and arts of creation.
When pulled by a user of magic,
It can have any number of meanings,
For creation takes so many forms in the hands of those who bear literal wands.
So you might interpret it as a sign of your own magical potential,
Or perhaps as indicative of your greater creative impulse,
Your power of invention and innovation in your study,
Your relationships,
Or your future career and family.
You are a powerful source.
There's only one more card to pull in this demonstration.
You hold your breath as Cassandra reveals the next card in the deck.
The card is called The World.
You're immediately moved by the airy beauty of the image.
At the center,
The figure of a woman decked in veils floats in the air.
She holds two wands and appears to be dancing in the gentle wind.
Around her in the shape of an oval is a green garland tied at the top and bottom with red ribbon.
Clouds surround the garland and four figures decorate each corner of the card.
In the top left,
The face of a beautiful man.
In the top right,
The head of an eagle.
In the bottom right,
The head on face of a majestic lion.
And in the bottom left corner,
The horned head of a bull.
Before Cassandra speaks,
You feel you know the meaning of the card.
It's as though the image undulating sweetly in the card's self-generating breeze knows your very heart and soul and it materialized to give you an answer to your question.
You're still not quite sure if the answer makes sense,
But it rings with authenticity and deep,
Deep knowing.
You understand now why Cassandra talked of insight and universal truth in the art of divination.
Confirming the nebulous thoughts that you couldn't quite fashion into words,
Cassandra explains that the card represents your own insightful self-knowledge as part of the greater whole,
The cosmos.
It places you at the heart of the universe,
But identifies you as a critical part of that universe.
It affirms your power,
Your creative spirit,
And your access to something higher.
You feel very moved by the card and by the interpretation.
Cassandra asks if you have an answer to your question.
You survey the cards on the table before you.
The magician,
The six of cups,
The wheel of fortune reversed,
The ace of wands,
And finally the world.
You inhale the perfume of lavender and neroli,
And your eyelids flutter.
Yes,
You think,
But not the kind of answer you thought you'd receive.
You return to your seat to another smattering of quiet applause.
Charlotte reaches out to give your hand a little squeeze,
And she mouths,
Good job.
You sink back into your seat,
Grateful to be out of the center of attention,
But also feeling strangely warm and light after your card reading,
As though you know a lovely little secret that no one else knows.
Now,
Cassandra announces,
You'll all try your hands at crystal gazing or scrying.
You should each have a crystal ball at your table,
But,
She insists,
Do not be discouraged if you do not see crystal clear images right away.
Scrying is a practice that takes years of study to master,
And it is rooted in the art of intuition.
The more vulnerable you allow yourself to be,
And the more self-aware you are,
The more you will come to appreciate what the crystal reveals.
This time,
And for many lessons to come,
She,
An experienced reader,
Will guide you through the process to help you become more comfortable with crystal gazing.
Before you even look into the crystal,
She says,
Sit comfortably and close your eyes.
Release any tension in your body.
Drop your shoulders.
Soften the space between your eyebrows.
Loosen the muscles around your jaw and mouth.
Relax.
Clear your mind.
Press on the crown of your head and feel a sensation like cool,
Clear water.
Feel that clear water sensation make its way down your body,
Cleansing you from head to toe.
Cleansing the inside of your head,
Your face,
Your jaw,
Your throat,
And neck,
Your shoulders,
All the way down your right arm,
Cleansing water.
Feel the tension,
Toxins,
And anything you're holding onto stream out through your fingertips like water.
Then feel the sensation cleansing your left arm from the shoulder to the elbow to the wrist,
Then streaming outward through the hands and fingertips,
Clear water making its way down your chest and belly,
Cleansing your insides down through your hips,
Cleansing through your right leg,
Then streaming out through the tips of your toes like water,
Then cleansing throughout your left leg from the hip to the knee and lower leg,
Streaming out from the tips of the left toes.
Feel cleansed and pure and relaxed,
Charged by the moon water.
Now Cassandra says,
Open your eyes and focus on the heart of the crystal sphere before you.
Look through the surface to the very deepest core of the crystal.
Let your eyes focus on the exact midpoint.
This,
She says,
Can be very intense as a first time reader.
Don't be afraid to let your eyes fall out of focus.
If they do,
Simply refocus them and find the heart of the crystal again.
You won't see perfect images this time,
Most likely.
Instead,
Look for any shadows that pass across the center of your crystal.
Note anything that reflects off the surface.
What impression does that create?
How do you feel?
Note any emotions or sensations that arise while you gaze into the heart of the crystal.
The art of scrying is based in your intuition.
Scrying you feel when gazing is relevant and valid.
This is what the crystal is showing you,
For this is what you are showing to the crystal.
Focus and unfocus.
Soften.
Let your intuition be your guide.
This can be an emotional exercise.
Give space to your emotions.
Acknowledge them.
Cherish them.
Remember what seems to be coming to you is coming from you.
Now let your eyes fall away from the center,
Cassandra says.
Rest or even close your eyes.
Well done.
Only a few minutes elapsed while you gazed into the center of the crystal,
But it might have been hours.
Your eyes feel tired and you feel emotionally exhausted.
You gaze around the room at your classmates who appear mostly dazed.
Charlotte,
Eyes glistening,
Looks powerfully moved by the exercise.
Cassandra tells you that your homework for the next lesson is to begin a divination journal.
Write down the emotions,
Sensations,
Impressions,
And intuitions you received during your first scrying exercise.
The entries don't need to be perfect or even in full sentences.
They can be fragments,
Single words,
Or even illustrations.
The more you practice and the more you become acquainted with your own inner nature,
The more successful and auger you will be.
As the first lesson draws to a close,
Cassandra gives your class one final exercise,
Perfect for resetting after crystal gazing.
While future lessons will delve much deeper into the role of the celestial bodies in divination,
Much like scrying,
The best way to begin is with a simple introduction.
Cassandra instructs you all to lean back in your seats or even find a comfortable cushion on the floor.
Find a position in which you can look straight up at the starry sky.
You lean back in your chairs.
A few students settle into pillows and cushions on the floor,
Charlotte included.
The enchanted ceiling is now resplendent with stars.
It's a dazzling sight.
Cassandra says that the stars and planets,
The whole splendid firmament,
Have long been a source of questioning and study.
From recording the regular movements of the heavenly bodies,
Humans discovered their place in the universe and such scientific concepts as time,
Relativity,
And gravity.
These pillars of science must be understood alongside the development of magical theory and divination,
For it is in the careful consideration of the nature of things that we can begin to understand relationships and make predictions,
Even small ones.
And when we comprehend the predictable movement of the stars,
We can seek out patterns even in the irregularities,
Like comets that portend the coming of great kings or seismic shifts in human affairs.
After fixating on one single spot in the heart of a crystal orb,
The expansive darkness and glittering galaxy are almost overwhelming.
But it's a comfort to your tired eyes.
You allow your gaze to widen and refocus on the limitless,
Sweeping glory of it all.
Your sleepy,
Perfume-steeped mind tries in vain to synthesize everything you saw and learned tonight.
It will all come together in time,
You think.
How the cards really connect to your question,
What the real question in your heart is.
How it's possible that anyone can be in control of their destiny if seers can access the wisdom of the future.
How everything within you seems wholly connected,
Inextricably bound to everything without.
The stars,
Though seemingly fixed in their points in the sky,
Are in motion,
You think.
And so are you.
Everything is in motion all the time,
Particles bouncing against each other,
Endlessly changing shape and intention.
How can we know the future unless we truly know ourselves?
When Cassandra dismisses the class,
You follow Charlotte languorously down the winding spiral staircase.
On the endless sequence of staircases,
You ascended to reach the east tower.
Your skin tingles and tightens in the cool air of the open castle.
And continue down each level.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Back in your dormitory,
You retrieve a blank journal and a feather quill from your trunk.
You try to write down your impressions from the first lesson,
Worried you'll forget them if you let yourself sleep first.
The words come easily,
Though they seem unconnected,
And you hardly know what some of them mean.
You find yourself moved to scribble a drawing in the margins for one sensation you can't accurately describe with language.
It will have to do,
You think.
Stumbling into your four-poster bed,
You slide beneath the blankets and release a heavy sigh.
You feel your muscles instantly relax,
Melting into the soft,
Supportive mattress.
You begin to close the drapes on the canopy,
Surrounding yourself in pleasant darkness.
But you decide to leave just a crack open on the side of the bed facing the window.
After all,
Through the sliver in the curtain,
You can see a swath of the night sky and a decadence of brilliant stars.
Feeling cleansed and exhausted,
And like you know yourself a little better than you did yesterday,
You close your eyes.
Good night.
