Leo pressed his face into the pillow. He counted ceiling cracks. One, two, three.
The bedroom door clicked shut. Leo stayed perfectly still and waited. The hallway went quiet.
Leo opened one eye. A silver sparkle drifted down from his teddy bear.
Another floated from the toy car. Another spun from the bookshelf. The sparkles filled the room like tiny stars.
Leo reached for a sparkle. It landed on his finger and hummed warm.
He followed the shimmering trail on his knees, past the toy car, past his shoes.
The trail led to the foot of his bed. Leo tucked the last sparkle under his pillow.
His eyes grew heavy. The room glowed soft and gold around him.
He smiled, closed his eyes, and sank into the warm quiet.
Morning light striped across Leo's bed. He stretched with a big yawn.
His teddy bear still sat beside him. Leo grinned.
He waited for tomorrow's quiet time.
