An Umbrella Over the Sleeping City

Chapter 1: A Knock of Light at the Window

It was the kind of evening that arrives slowly. Outside, the sky had turned the colour of amber and slate, and inside, ⟨Character 1⟩, ⟨Character 2⟩, ⟨Character 3⟩, and ⟨Character 4⟩ had almost finished getting ready for bed.

There was ⟨Character 1⟩, a ⟨age⟩-year-old ⟨role⟩ who was born in ⟨birthplace⟩, now lives in ⟨home⟩, and loves ⟨favourite thing⟩. They yawned a yawn so wide that it seemed to pull the whole room a little closer to bedtime.

Nearby was ⟨Character 2⟩, a ⟨age⟩-year-old ⟨role⟩ who was born in ⟨birthplace⟩, now lives in ⟨home⟩, and loves ⟨favourite thing⟩. They were the sort of person who notices things, and tonight they noticed the window.

And there was ⟨Character 4⟩, a ⟨age⟩-year-old ⟨role⟩ who was born in ⟨birthplace⟩, now lives in ⟨home⟩, and loves ⟨favourite thing⟩. They were ready for a story too.

And there was ⟨Character 3⟩, a ⟨age⟩-year-old ⟨role⟩ who was born in ⟨birthplace⟩, now lives in ⟨home⟩, and loves ⟨favourite thing⟩. They were ready for a story too.

Something at the window was glowing: the warm squares of windows going dark one by one. And with it drifted rain tapping on a hundred roofs, patient as a lullaby.

"We'll be back before anyone notices," said ⟨Character 3⟩, which is what everyone says at the start of a very gentle adventure. The room smelled of wet pavement and bread from a bakery.

Chapter 2: The Way to the Sleeping City

And so a big red umbrella that lifted off the step and carried everyone up into the drizzle. ⟨Character 4⟩ went first, and the others followed, tucking blankets around their knees.

They floated past a tram sliding home with no one aboard. ⟨Character 1⟩ waved, and a tram sliding home with no one aboard seemed to wave back. A little later they passed a baker yawning over tomorrow's dough, already fast asleep.

At the gate of the Sleeping City stood Ember, a grey cat who lived on the rooftops. When Ember spoke, the voice was purring and unhurried, like rain on a tin roof. "Welcome," it said. "We have all night."

"Are we far from home?" asked ⟨Character 2⟩. Ember shook its head. "You are never far from home when you are this sleepy. Home comes with you."

⟨Character 3⟩ walked a little behind, counting the lights. They lost count at eleven, which is a very good number to lose count at.

Chapter 3: Someone Who Needed Finding

A little way into the Sleeping City, they heard a sound that was not a sleeping sound. It was small and worried, and it came from behind a stone.

They found a lost paper boat curled up small. It had drifted down a gutter and lost the child who had folded it. "That sounds hard," said ⟨Character 4⟩ gently. "Let's look together."

⟨Character 1⟩ knew exactly what to do, because they love ⟨favourite thing⟩, and people who love things are good at noticing. They pointed to a glimmer that nobody else had seen.

It did not take long. Around a bend, under the warm squares of windows going dark one by one, they found the place a lost paper boat had been looking for. "Thank you," it said, and it meant it twice.

"You see," said Ember, "the night is not for being brave. It is for being gentle." ⟨Character 2⟩ yawned, and the yawn seemed to agree.

Chapter 4: A Rest Along the Way

They came to a place made for stopping. ⟨Character 3⟩ lay back and looked up. Above them was the warm squares of windows going dark one by one, going nowhere at all.

⟨Character 4⟩ began to count soft things. One: pigeons tucked under an eave. Two: the sound of rain tapping on a hundred roofs. Three: their own slow breathing. By four, they had forgotten what counting was for.

⟨Character 1⟩ watched a dog asleep in a doorway for a while. Then their eyes closed, just for a little, and the night held still so as not to disturb them.

Chapter 5: The Quiet Gift

Deep in the Sleeping City, Ember stopped. "There is something I want to show you," it said. "Only sleepy people can see it properly."

There, resting on nothing in particular, was a streetlamp that glowed the exact colour of a goodnight. ⟨Character 2⟩ reached out and held it. It was warm, and it was heavy in the way that good sleep is heavy.

⟨Character 3⟩ asked if they could stay. "You can take it with you," said Ember kindly. "That is the point of it. A city is only a thousand small houses taking turns to sleep."

For a long time nobody spoke. The rain tapped on the roof, tap, tap, tap, as slow as a clock. ⟨Character 4⟩ felt their eyelids growing heavy in the pleasant way, like curtains being drawn by a careful hand.

Chapter 6: Back to the Pillow

When it was time to go, Ember did not say goodbye. "Goodnight," it said instead, which is a softer word, and the right one.

⟨Character 1⟩ held the warm thought of the Sleeping City like a hand holds a stone. They were not quite asleep yet. But nearly. Nearly.

Beside them, ⟨Character 3⟩ had gone quiet in the way people go quiet when they have reached the soft bottom of the day.

The window clicked shut by itself. The room was just as they had left it, except that it was now full of the particular quiet that follows a very good night.

Somewhere far away, Ember smiled and settled down to sleep as well. The rain tapped on the roof, tap, tap, tap, as slow as a clock. Goodnight, ⟨Character 1⟩, ⟨Character 2⟩, ⟨Character 3⟩, and ⟨Character 4⟩. Goodnight.