Wide Awake

Fred was a busy man. He worked in an office during the day, and in the evening, he managed his own business. Fred loved swimming, reading and learning, but he never had time to do any of these things. His colleagues called him a workaholic. He laughed when they said it, but deep inside he knew it was true.

The problem was, there were just not enough hours in the day for Fred. He often looked at the clock and wished for more time.
‘’If only I could stay awake,’ he said, ‘’I could do everything I want to do.’’

One night, Fred was walking home after work. He still had a report to finish, but he was exhausted and needed his bed.

The streets were quiet, and the air was cold. Suddenly, a man in a grey coat stepped out of the shadows. He looked serious but friendly.

“You look tired,” the man said.

Fred smiled weakly. “Yes. I never have enough time to do everything that I need to do. I wish I didn’t have to sleep.”

The man reached into his pocket and showed Fred a small white pill.

“This pill can help you. If you take it once, you will never feel tired again. You will never need to sleep.”

Fred’s eyes grew wide. “Never?”

“Never,” the man said. “You will have all the time you want. Day and night. You will always have the energy to do the things you want to do.”

Fred thought about it. No sleep? That meant he could work, read, write, and learn all the time. He could finish everything he started. Life would be perfect.

“What’s the catch?” he asked.

The man smiled. “The catch is simple. You will never sleep again. Even if you want to. Think carefully. Life will feel very long without rest.”

Fred looked at the pill. He remembered all the times he had fallen asleep at his desk, all the mornings when he’d felt slow and heavy. He imagined a life where he was always strong and awake.

“Okay, I’ll take it,” he said.

Fred paid the man, then took the pill. It tasted bitter, but he didn’t care.

The man in the grey coat gave a short smile. “It is done.” Then he turned and walked away into the night.

For the first few weeks, life was great. Fred worked all day, then read and did what he wanted at night. He wrote long reports for his job, learnt German and Japanese, and took up jogging and tennis. He felt powerful and laughed when his friends said they were tired.

 “I don’t sleep anymore,” he told them. “I have time for everything.”

But weeks passed. The nights grew longer. Fred had no dreams, no soft bed, no rest. While the city slept, he walked alone through empty streets.

Every day at the office, he finished his work faster than anyone else, but he felt strange. He missed lying in bed, closing his eyes, and letting the world go dark. He missed the small joy of waking up fresh in the morning.

One evening, Fred sat at his desk, his eyes open wide. He was not tired, but he felt empty. He had all the time in the world, yet nothing felt right.

He whispered to himself, “I only wanted more hours… but not like this.”

Fred was wide awake. And he would be for the rest of his life.

📒 Key vocabulary

• colleagues – people one works with
• workaholic – a person who works too much
• awake – not sleeping
• pill – a small piece of medicine that you swallow or eat
• catch – a hidden problem in an offer or plan
• rest – time to relax or sleep
• bitter – having a strong, unpleasant taste
• empty – with nothing inside, or feeling nothing

🤔 Comprehension quiz

How much of this story did you understand? Test yourself with this easyEnglish quiz!