Sleep

I had a lot to do this week so this is another short story by Ricky! Go check her out! https://rickyswritingcorner.wordpress.com/

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The bright alarm clock display glared at him from across the room. 2:15 AM, it read in neon blue. Another fitful, sleepless night. He hadn’t slept well in weeks, and it was finally time to do something about it.

Brentley Connor sat up with resolute determination. This had to end, or the sleepless nights would start to take a serious toll on his productivity. The only problem was… Well. The fix would be so complicated! Brentley often said that his life motto was “work as needed”. He worked to earn a paycheck, but any effort outside of that was just too much. The only reason he wasn’t living in squalor was that he put things away or threw them out as he used them. There wasn’t any point in making more work for himself later.

As he left his room, he grabbed a pen-knife from his bedside table. It would be sharp enough to do the trick, he hoped, or he might have to take time to sharpen it. Ugh. He was grateful that he had splurged on a bottle of cold-brew coffee while making his weekly grocery pick-up order, otherwise the next step to fix his insomnia would have taken so much longer.

The ritual room in Brentley’s basement was covered in a fine layer of dust, but it lent a certain sense of authenticity. He lit the old candles with his new electric lighter (why use matches? They take too long!) and swept the dust from a spot on the floor. Pricking his finger with the knife, he mixed the blood and some coffee together to use as ink for the runes.

Once the last rune was placed, Brentley dumped the rest of the bottle of coffee over his sigil. As the last drop hit the floor, a long-suffering sigh sounded behind him.

“You had to use the cheap kind?” Brentley didn’t turn.

“Be grateful I used it at all, fiend. Can I get my sleep schedule back?”

“Hm…. No.”

“Why not”

“I need something from you.” Brentley turned and glared at the figure.

“I don’t have time to run errands for you, fiend.” The fiend’s eyes glinted in the candlelight.

“Not an errand, a promise.”

“No can do, man. I’ll just take some melatonin.” Brentley wiped a rune away with his big toe and the fiend vanished, taking the flames from the candles with him.

Brentley Connor took his melatonin and went back to bed. There were other ways to get some sleep.

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Have a wonderful day!