Style inspired by Beckett's Waiting for Godot
Is my child getting enough sleep?
‘The light was on again.’
‘Whose?’
‘The boy upstairs.’
‘Your boy?’
‘Not mine. Nobody belongs to anybody.’
Silence.
‘Three in the morning.’
‘Doing what?’
‘Looking at his face probably.’
‘In the dark?’
‘That’s where they all live now.’
A pause.
‘You told him to sleep?’
‘Of course.’
‘And?’
‘He said he wasn’t tired.’
‘Were his eyes open?’
‘Barely.’
Silence.
‘They’re all exhausted.’
‘Then why don’t they sleep?’
‘Apparently their brains arrive later than the rest of them.’
‘Late brains.’
‘Very late.’
‘Convenient.’
‘Biological, they said.’
‘Who said?’
‘People with diagrams.’
Pause.
‘When we were young they told us to go to bed.’
‘And we didn’t.’
‘True.’
‘But we were tired.’
‘We were drunk.’
‘That helped.’
Silence.
‘One of them explained it to me once. Said children get sleepy early. Then suddenly they don’t anymore.’
‘What suddenly?’
‘The chemicals move.’
‘Inside?’
‘Where else?’
‘And after that they lie awake staring at ceilings?’
‘And telephones.’
‘Important telephones.’
‘Very important telephones.’
A pause.
‘School still starts at the same time though.’
‘Exactly.’
‘Cruel arrangement.’
‘Like waking somebody at three in the morning and asking them algebra.’
Silence.
‘They sleep till noon on Saturdays now.’
‘Recovering.’
‘From what?’
‘Tuesday probably.’
Neither speaks.
‘People think they’re lazy.’
‘People always think that.’
‘Maybe they’re just tired.’
‘That too.’
A pause.
‘Everything gets worse without sleep.’
‘Such as?’
‘Temper. Memory. Thinking.’
‘Kindness.’
‘Yes.’
Silence.
‘One of them cried because somebody buttered toast too loudly.’
‘Reasonable.’
‘At noon.’
‘Still reasonable.’
A longer silence.
‘You can see it in their faces sometimes.’
‘What?’
‘That strange look. Like they arrived somewhere before the rest of themselves did.’
‘Half-present.’
‘Exactly.’
Pause.
‘And then the parents stand in doorways saying, “Put the phone away.”’
‘Ancient ritual.’
‘Never works.’
‘Nothing ancient works.’
Silence.
‘So what are they supposed to do?’
‘Apparently no screens before bed.’
‘Impossible.’
‘Soft lighting.’
‘Candles?’
‘Warm drinks.’
‘Monks.’
A pause.
‘Consistency.’
‘Teenagers hate consistency.’
‘That’s why they need it.’
Neither moves.
‘One of them told me night feels easier.’
‘Why?’
‘Said nobody wants anything from him there.’
Silence.
‘Ah.’
‘Yes.’
A long pause.
‘Maybe that’s the real problem.’
‘Which?’
‘Daytime.’
Neither speaks.
‘So they stay awake avoiding tomorrow.’
‘Until tomorrow arrives.’
‘Exactly.’
Silence.
‘Strange age.’
‘Terrible age.’
‘Beautiful too.’
‘Occasionally.’
The light remains on upstairs.
Links:
Sleep Foundation – Teen Sleep Guidelines and Circadian Rhythmshttps://www.sleepfoundation.org
NHS – Teen sleep advice and mental healthhttps://www.nhs.uk
Child Mind Institute – Sleep, screen time, and adolescent wellbeinghttps://childmind.org
The School of Life – Self-care and the role of sleep in emotional development
https://www.theschooloflife.com Foundation – Teen Sleep Guidelines and Circadian Rhythms
https://www.sleepfoundation.orgNHS –Teen sleep advice and mental health
https://www.nhs.ukChild Mind Institute – Sleep, screen time, and adolescent wellbeing
https://childmind.orgThe School of Life – Self-care and the role of sleep in emotional developmenthttps://www.theschooloflife.com