3pm.

When 3pm hits, a small man who lives in the back corridor of my mind lets loose the same sheep that I count to fall asleep.

They’re restless after being cooped up all day and it’s mayhem.

I watch the sun, lower now in the horizon, from my desk. I answer phone calls and talk to clients and staple papers and send faxes and nod and smile and all the while there are 99 bleating sheep in my brain.

This small man, the one who tends to my sheep, must hate me.

He sits on the corner of the fence where I wish the sheep would stay and watches them run and play. He leans, rests his head on his hand and his arm on the fence-post next to him. His eyes grow heavy in the warm afternoon sun.

My eyes grow heavy too.

“You’ve hit a wall,” my co-worker tells me.

She’s seen me yawn. I nod and agree. She has no idea of the 99 sheep.

The sheep are taking up entirely too much mental real estate. I’m asked questions and I try to think of answers, but the sheep are running and the small man is napping in the tall, tall grass of my memories and I can’t possibly form words when my eyelids feel as heavy as they do.

“Can I get back to you on this tomorrow?” I ask them. “It’s been a long day,” No one knows about the sheep.

I’ve talked with the small man before about pushing back the release of the sheep to later in the day. “Preferably after office hours,” I’ve asked him. He shakes his head and walks through the little puddles of my mental to-do’s, sending ripples through my evening plans.

“3:00 is the latest.” he calls softly back to me.

I dread 3pm because of the sheep.

I can feel them growing restless leading up to 3pm.

3pm hits and my eyes glaze over as I heed to their bleating.

“I’m so sorry, its just the sheep in my mind!! They’re up now for the rest of the day. Maybe they’ll take a cat nap, if we’re lucky, later this evening so I can get something done, but they’re out now!! Out until I count them back to sleep!! Can I send this email tomorrow?” I want to tell my boss, but she can’t know about the sheep. No one can know they’re running through the ridges and bends in my mind.

99 sheep and they’re always on time.