The Sleep Poem - Part 1

When I was, like, just a toddler, I had a huge fear of the dark. Every night, Eefa would safely tuck me up in bed and tell me that the demons won’t haunt me tonight, but I still cowered under my duvet in fear as spooky sounds of wind making the trees tap against the windows, the rain pouring on the window pane and loud thunder crashing outside on some nights entered my head like an unnerving noise. I would hide under the covers, whimpering and squealing quietly, until the crack of dawn made me wake up tired and nervous. I would be too sleepy to play with the other monster toddlers in the Scream Street Nursery, because of how sleepy and shattered I was. I would clutch onto my blankie and suck my thumb as the nursery teacher lead me to the nap corner so I could sleep. All the other children had to be quiet so I could sleep, but sometimes they fought and argued and screamed when it was time to play. It was mainly Dixon who started these arguments, but I myself would lie down and look up at the ceiling with hopeful, bloodshot eyes.

One night, when Eefa tucked me into bed, it was on an October night, a few nights before Halloween. It was rainy and thundery outside, and I was hiding under my bedcovers, for spooky sounds were haunting this place as if ghosts had gone on a sleepover in Eefa’s basement. No wonder Eefa tells me not to go there. The tree branches outside cast spooky shadows, illuminated by the thunder, which made me squeal and scramble under the covers. The wind howled like a million werewolves without a whistle and the rain pattered hard against the window. Then, I saw a huge shadow on the wall, lit up by the thunder: a huge, beast-shaped monster with two tails and pins poking out of it. I screamed and raced out of my room. Of course, it was only one of my voodoo dolls, but I didn’t realise it yet because I was too young.

I raced into Eefa’s room, suddenly waking her up. “Eefa..” I said quietly. “What is it this time, Luella?” asked Eefa, yawning tiresomely. “I’m scared, I saw a monster.” I whimpered. You might think Eefa might scold me and tell me to go back to bed, but she was reassuring and said, “There now, little Luella. We all have fears of the dark sometimes, like me, when I was your age I was so afraid of the dark my parents would be very angry…but not me.” Eefa picked me up and cradled me in her arms. “There. There, there, now, Luella. Come on, why don’t you get into bed with me?” I crawled onto Eefa’s bed and snuggled down under the soft, purple covers, right next to my glamorous aunt. She whispered: “I know you’re afraid of the dark, Luella, I had a fear of it myself when you were my age. But you know, from my spellbook there is a poem I know by heart: a Sleep Poem to help you snuggle down and fall asleep in a world where I will always guide you. And the time to recite it, is now.”