OkiOki Mid-Century Nightstand, Instructional Manual

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He started to have trouble falling asleep. Weeks went
by, then months. Maybe he wandered to another herd.
Perhaps he fell off a cliff. Maybe Swifty found a better
life elsewhere. Swifty was gone.
The boy would lay in bed at night, staring restlessly at
the ceiling. Noticing that he was distraught, the boy’s
mother sat on the edge of the bed one night and asked
why he could no longer fall asleep. He missed Swifty.
Counting sheep no longer comforted him and didn’t
calm him. His mother empathetically rubbed her hand
through his hair, petting him repeatedly with maternal
care. “OkiOki, okioki.” She repeated this as he dozed off
to sleep. OkiOki, the Maori word for rest, tranquility,
and relaxation soothed the young boy. This ritual
continued for years; the OkiOki tradition continued
beyond the young boy, with his children, and his
children’s children.
For generations now, well-rested people
have depended on the lore of OkiOki.
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