“Mommy, I’m scared.”

“Scared of what, sweetheart?”

“I’m scared of having bad dreams.”

“Ah,” I said, “I have just the thing. Let me go get it.”

I ran swiftly back to my room and looked around. I needed something. An object. Something happy and comforting.

A scarf? Yes, this sky blue scarf that I rarely used would be perfect. Brightly colored. Nice and soft.

But was that convincing enough?

No, no. It needed more. It needed to smell good.

A few drops of jasmine essential oil was enough to saturate the scarf in a cloud of perfume, the essence of relaxation and joy.

I returned to my son.

“What is it?” He asked.

Oh shoot. A name.

“It’s a…um—it’s a dream…chaser. Yes. It’s a dream chaser, it chases away bad dreams. Because bad dreams don’t like bright colors, softness and good smells.”

I saw the relief in his eyes as I draped the dream chaser across his chest. He bunched a corner of it into his fist and held on tight.

“Would you like me to lay here with you until you fall asleep?” I asked my five year old son.

“You don’t want to do that,” he said, “it takes me forever to fall asleep.”

“Then I’ll wait with you forever.”

He was asleep in five minutes.

(C) 2022 Barbara Gray – no content may be used or reproduced without permission of the author.