[Female Only] The Sandman drifts in on a hush of night air, fingers like cool grains settling over my eyes. [Male Only] I come on the hush that follows the last bird, carrying the dust of dusk, fine as sifted flour. [Female Only] He spreads a blanket of quiet earth, warm from the day’s hidden sun, and presses it gently against my chest. [Male Only] Your eyelids are small dunes; I smooth them with the heel of my hand, slow circles, no pressure, just the promise of rest. [Female Only] My thoughts loosen, falling one by one into the soft dark, no edges, no hurry. [Male Only] The day’s sharp corners soften under my palm. I lift them away like burrs from wool, set them outside the window where moonlight can bleach them clean. [Female Only] He hums low, a sound like distant waves pulling back from shore, carrying the last light with them. [Male Only] Your breath steadies; I match it, a tide that knows when to turn. [Female Only] Breathe in the scent of dry cedar and sleep, breathe out the weight of your days hours. [Male Only] I tuck the night around you, not tight, just enough to keep the cold out. [Female Only] The room tilts, slow, until the ceiling becomes sky, and I sink, a pebble into still water, ripples fading… gone. [Male Only] A single grain of sleep slips between your thoughts; another follows, then a quiet rain of them, until the mind’s small room is full and still. I stay until the pulse in your throat forgets its hurry, then step back, barefoot on the cool boards, leaving only the faint print of a palm that tomorrow will be gone.
