God of Sleep

by Melody Tio

 

“The mortals have invented something called a ‘wheel,’” my brother said. “Come take a look?” 

“Five more minutes,” I said, then fell back asleep. Centuries passed."

“The war has ended,” my sister said. “Did they tell you who won?” 

“The side with the horse. That was a clever trick.” I fell asleep again. 

“The seas are boiling over,” my mother told me, millennia later. “We are expecting a rise of arriving souls within the next decade.” 

“Will they be noisy?” I had mortal dreams to attend to. 

She said, “If you truly must, use what the mortals call ‘noise-canceling headphones.’”a