The night stars were beginning to align in the skies. Orla stood next to the window side, eyes intently fixed on the dim moon that glimmered between the skies.
A memory from her childhood traversed her mind and she smiled…broadly. She wanted to fill her head with that pleasant memory when the door to the bedroom flung open, the sound impeding her alone time.
Her eyes swiftly moved across the room, to the doorpost. She saw Callan walking into the room with some documents in his hand.
He dropped them on the office table in the room and slumped on the bed, tiredly spreading his arms all over the place. He had left the room after he took his evening bath, gone for hours and now, he was back.
Orla moved away from the window side. Pulling down the curtains, she ambled towards the bedside.
It was close to midnight, and her sleeping time had passed but was yet to close her eyes. She tried, but the sleep wasn't coming to her.
She had to inundate herself with the view of the night stars when she couldn't sleep. She always did that when she struggled to sleep and over the years, it had been therapy for her sleeplessness.
"I am sorry about today." She lowered herself on the bed, her tiny body had no impact on the bed unlike how it sank whenever Callan relieved his weight on it. "I will be more careful next time." She sat at the edge, clasping her legs together. When Callan didn't respond to her, she cleared her throat and said. "Did your people complain?"
"My people?" He scoffed, clamping his palms together, he lowered them to the back and rested his head on them. "What do you care, Orla?"
"Eh, I just wanted to make sure that everything went on well." She said, curling her lips as she looked at her husband.
Callan's eyes were shut, tossing on the bed like he was looking for sleep, but it wasn't forthcoming.
In the three days of sleeping in the same room with him, Orla had noticed how he tossed around on the bed at night, finding it difficult to rest his head.
She had secretly watched him one night, pretending to be asleep but her eyes were slightly opened. She had seen how Callan roamed every corner of the room, muttering cuss words and trying out different positions on the bed but the sleep didn't come to him.
He eventually stopped trying and had to pick up the computer to work on the office table that was in the bedroom.
He worked so much and he deserved to rest. Orla tried to muffle her words, but she couldn't do that for long.
"Do you have difficulties sleeping at night?" She asked before swallowing the words.
"What the fuck do you care, Orla?" Callan half-yelled. He was so close to drifting to sleep when Orla's voice impeded him.
"I…I am sorry. I was just concerned about you."
"Get the fuck out of here if you won't let me sleep in peace. Don't be concerned about me, I didn't ask for it. Be concerned about yourself, your damn cat, and anything that comes to your mind to care about that. Just don't involve me." He inhaled sharply, irritation surging through him.
He had been working in his study room and all he needed was just a few hours of sleep, but he couldn't get that.
It always happened. He had been sleeping with the aid of pills over the years. He stopped taking the pills a few weeks ago and sleeping had been hell for him. It just didn't come to him anymore.
Groaning on his bed, he made a mental note to get the pills the next day. He couldn't continue that way.
Orla got off the bed, walking towards the window to yank the curtains up. The bright stars penetrated the room, glinting on Callan's face.
"What are you doing?" He grunted. "Should I blame myself for letting you share this room with me?" He glared at her.
Orla smiled, moving towards him. She wondered when she became audacious, but it seemed right.
"I know of three types." She said, intertwining her fingers.
Callan was befuddled, but he pretended not to be listening to her.
"Acute insomnia, chronic and onset. Which do you suffer from?"
"I told you to care about something else." His tone was harsh, but she went on.
"I guess it's chronic and it's a pity that I do not have a cure for it."
"So, why do you keep running your mouth, deterring me from sleeping?"
"So, it's chronic insomnia?" Her eyelids fluttered shut in amusement. She didn't know she would get that right.
"One more word from you and tonight will be your last night in this room." He warned, wagging his fingers at her.
Orla felt the annoyance laced in his tone. She didn't want to offend him, but she was also not cool with the fact he couldn't sleep well at night.
She sat back on the bed, running her hands through the sheets. She loved the comfy texture of the bed and didn't want to stop sleeping there with him.
"Pull the curtains down and do whatever you want to do. Don't just disturb me anymore."
She did as he instructed, still unsatisfied.
She sat back on the bed and was thinking of what to do to help him when she remembered something her mother used to do for her when she was a lot younger. What made her sleep at night before she turned to watching the night skies and falling asleep on the spot.
A lullaby.
Though he was an adult she wasn't sure that would work on him, but she was willing to try anyway. And she didn't care if he would send her out of the room, she wanted to take the risk.
She set herself on her side of the bed, her eyes not moving from Callan. He was still tossing on the bed and that broke Orla's heart.
"I will pack my things out of the room tomorrow morning, but I just have to do this." She cleared her throat again and started in a gentle and slow tone.
She didn't have a great voice and she had never bothered about it until now. She doubted if her voice would loll Callan to sleep or scare him away, but she sang anyway.
Callan relaxed and let the sound of her sonorous voice fill the room and his ears. He unloaded all the thoughts in his head and let himself drown in the ocean of her beautiful voice, soothing his soul to the deepest part.
It touched him that no one had ever considered doing that for him. Not one of the many whores he had slept with, not even his mother.
Elizabeth knew her son suffered from insomnia but she had been nonchalant about it and Callan was the one who fought it right from when he was young until he left his mother's house to live alone. It persisted and grew worse when he started burning himself out with work.
He suddenly stopped struggling. Sleep was drawing him near. He shut his eyes harder, savoring the serene atmosphere and Orla's voice as she sang. After a few more minutes, he drifted off to sleep, letting out soft snores.
Orla stopped singing when she heard his snores. They weren't too loud and disturbing, they were the type that depicted good sleep.
She smiled, proud that she took the bold step of singing for him. She was sure the lullaby lulled him to sleep and she was glad she tried.
She rested her back on the headboard, her eyes not leaving her husband.
She knew that night was going to be her last night in the room since she went against his words.
Thoughts of leaving the room saddened her, but if Callan was going to throw her things out of the room because she cared about him then so be it.
She lay on the bed and very quickly, sleep took over her.
In case you all were wondering if lullaby works for adults. It does, because you need a clear mind to sleep.
And if you can't get your mind off the lingering thoughts that deprive you of sleep, listening to cool music can help you.
Lullaby is sung in a cool voice to soothe the soul and draw you to sleep. It's somehow similar to cool music. I hope you get this?
Don't forget to vote and comment.