He grabbed his dressing gown and stumbled to his desk, nudged the little placemat awake and was instantly rewarded with a mug of steaming hot coffee. After several sips he felt a bit better but couldn’t shake the uneasiness the forgotten dream had caused.
The Book of Un-Reality jumped about like a magic bean, Thrumps laid a gentle hand on it, but it was far too agitated to be pacified.
“Come on then,” he said. “Show me the problem.”
No sooner had he spoke than the cover whipped open and the pages fanned so fast he thought they would never stop. But stop they did and with an almighty wallop as the book slammed to an abrupt halt.
Dream Catcher was scrawled across two full pages and down the crease was a pencil drawing of the most elaborate Native American talisman. When it materialised from the page it spun in an invisible breeze, searching frantically for the right way to face. As it slowed, it shuddered making the beads click together, as if in warning. Thrumps walked towards the back of his room where the dream catcher had decided it must be and peered at it closely. There within the web of silks was the dream that he’d had for the last few nights.
It wasn’t very big and took up no more room than a caught fly, but it was clearly very angry. He didn’t know why he reached out a finger to touch it but was instantly repelled as it snarled and spat black ink at him. Best leave it be he thought.
Peering through the velvet curtain he watched The Emporium transform itself into a craft workshop. Each individual table contained a bamboo hoop, twine, a tub of beads, feathers of all shapes and sizes and a pair of tiny silver scissors. Beneath them all were written instructions.
The front doors were opened by a young lady dressed in the beautiful costume of a Native American Indian. The plain tunic, gathered with a leather belt was adorned with so many intricate patterns of beads that when the lights caught her, she shimmered.
“Yá'át'ééh!” she said in her native tongue, “Hello,” she clarified with a smile.
“We are going to be making dream catchers,” she said. “But not just any-old-ones, these are going to be personal, to snag the nightmares you have all been experiencing so they can never haunt you again.”
She hitched herself up onto the desk Thrumps was sat at.
“We believe there are always dreams that fill the air both day and night. Dream-catchers are a protective talisman against the bad stuff.” One instantly materialised in her hand when she raised her arm.
“The outer ring,” she said running a finger around the edge, “… signifies the circle of life, the web symbolizes protection, a kind of spiritual safety net that has no beginning or end.”
Her audience was captivated.
“When finished you must hang it over your bed.” She paused to make sure everyone understood. “Good dreams will slip through the holes and slide down the feathers to fall into your sleep, but the bad ones will be caught in the web so they cannot disturb you.”
As they began, she quickly continued. “Before you start, please remember that it must have 13 points to represent the phases of the moon and that the best colours to include are white and blue, for hope and pureness.”
It was a very productive time after that, each person engrossed in the task and only supervised when absolutely necessary. Once done, they all sat staring silently at what they had created.
“The mission is complete,” she said gently. “Once home, hang them above where you sleep.”
“What happens to the nightmares?” Someone asked.
She smiled, “I have to admit they do not like being caught.”
“But once trapped how do we get rid of them?”
“Ahh my friends that is the simple part, all you have to do is to shake any remaining negative energy out in the daylight. People may think you a little strange, stuffing your hand through an open window, wriggling a dream-catcher, but that’s okay. Just remember not to shake the contents onto anyone, bad dreams are tricky little things and they are not fussy about who they target once free.”
They all nodded solemnly.
“Mind you,” she added. “Revenge could, maybe be served very well that way …”
She laughed at the sea of shocked faces in front of her.
“Only kidding!” She added, but Thrumps was not too sure that she actually was.