Lisa Myers Bulmash

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Book of Bulmash, chapter 108

Chapter 108

  1. The lamp oil of midnight burned in the father's workspace, as he prepared materials for the following day's labor.
  2. Despite the late hour, he was not surprised to hear his nine-year-old son at the door.
  3. "Father," the boy said, "Father, I cannot sleep. Mine eyes will not close, nor will my body relax in yon bed.
  4. "I cannot lull myself to slumber. Deliver me from my restlessness, I beg of thee."
  5. The father went down to the kitchen to investigate, knowing his son's penchant for covert late-night snacking.
  6. And lo, within the food storage unit, sat the source of the child's anguish: an empty can which once held a beverage the child was forbidden to imbibe after the evening meal.
  7. The patriarch arched his eyebrow as he assessed the evidence.
  8. "Thou hast defied the Lord of Caffeine, he who laughs loud and long at man's need for rest," said the father.
  9. "If justice were served, thou wouldst not not escape thy self-inflicted insomnia. But I shall be merciful;
  10. "I give to thee half a sleep aid, and with this weapon shalt thou battle the Lord of Caffeine until he loses interest in thee at daybreak.
  11. And the father delivered the medication unto his son, then turned back to his work.
  12. And the boy trudged away to find the elusive path to sleep.