Arcane (adjective): secret, mysterious, understood by only a few

When darkness took over and the nightmares came out to play, the children simply closed their eyes. They would sleep safe and sound throughout the night, for the webbed hoops above their heads caught any bad dream that dared to pass by, while the good ones slipped through their holes.

Next morning, when the sun rose, all the bad dreams trapped by the dreamcatchers would disintegrate at the first kiss of the dawn’s light.

The little girl had believed the story ever since she got her own room, never once doubting that her secret guardian would dutifully watch over her slumber. However, this day was different.

A feather had fallen from the dreamcatcher.

With tears threatening to fly free from her eyes, she scrambled into her parents’ room and slammed herself into her mother’s arms. In a voice that wobbled with every breath, the little girl anxiously confided the incident.

Her mother only laughed, warm and comforting as the sun’s glowing rays. Taking her daughter’s small palms, she led her to a quiet corner of their garage, from which she pulled out a box that was covered with the dust of time.

There, she gently passed down the family tradition of crafting a dreamcatcher to her child, promising her that a bad dream would never haunt her as long as their cultural heritage protected her rest.