Calm, gentle stories suitable for reading before sleep.
Story 1 — When the Tide Was Late The sea woke up before everyone else. It always did. Soft waves brushed the shore, leaving thin white lines that disappeared almost as soon as they arrived. The sky was pale and quiet, the kind of morning that felt like it was still thinking. Aru sat on…
Ollie, Pip, and the Light That Wouldn’t Sleep The sky over Willow Patch had turned the color of warm milk. That meant one thing. “Bedtime,” Mama Mouse said gently. Pip flopped onto the rug. “Already?” “Yes,” she smiled. “The moon is up.” Pip peeked out the window. The moon winked back. He sighed and shuffled…
Ollie, Pip, and the Door That Wouldn’t Decide The afternoon at Willow Patch felt lazy and slow. That was Pip’s favorite kind of afternoon. He lay on his back in the grass, staring up at the clouds. “That one looks like a sandwich,” he said. Ollie, sitting nearby with a book resting on his lap,…
Ollie and Pip and the Case of the Missing Muffins The morning began the way most mornings did in Willow Patch—slowly, warmly, and with the smell of something baking. Ollie noticed the smell before he opened his eyes. That was how Ollie was. He noticed things. From his tree hollow, he listened. The kettle hummed…
The Sea That Learned to Listen The sea felt it before she saw it. A long, slow pressure moved through her blue body—different from the moon’s pull, different from the wind’s play. “Something is coming,” the sea murmured. The waves nearest the shore paused mid-roll, surprised to hear her speak. “What kind of something?” asked…
The River That Forgot Its Banks “I don’t remember being this wide,” said the river. She flowed past stones she had known all her life, but today they felt smaller. Farther apart. The water touched places it had never touched before. “Slow down,” begged a smooth grey rock, half-submerged. “You’re tickling my top.” “I’m trying,”…
The Deer Who Knew When to Wait The forest did not change all at once. It changed in pauses. Maya the deer felt it in her legs first. “Don’t,” she told her fawn gently, placing a hoof across his path. “Not yet.” The fawn froze, confused. The clearing ahead looked the same—sunlight spilling through leaves,…
The Worm Who Held the Soil “Please don’t rush,” said the soil. Luma slowed at once. He had been moving steadily all morning, turning gently through the dark earth, making small tunnels that let air and water pass. Worms didn’t hurry. Hurrying made the ground anxious. “I’m not rushing,” Luma said. “I’m listening.” “You always…
The Bird Who Forgot the Sky’s Map “Something is wrong,” said Aru the bird. He was perched on a thin branch near the edge of the forest, wings folded neatly, eyes fixed on the sky. The morning was bright. The wind was gentle. Everything looked exactly as it always did. And yet— “I don’t know…
The Fungi That Carried Warnings “Do you feel that?” whispered the soil. “Yes,” answered the fungi. “Something is changing.” The warning did not travel through the air. It moved underground—through thin white threads that looked fragile but were stronger than they appeared. These threads stretched far beneath the forest, connecting roots, stones, worms, and water…
