Anang decides to insure Dmitri has a pleasant eternal sleep instead of one plagued by nightmares. This is why I included a dream catcher in smoke whispers. The feathers act as soft ladders to guide good dreams to the dreamer, and the web traps bad dreams or evil in general and holds it until the sun rises and destroys the evil. The beads symbolize either good dreams or Spider Woman, depending on the tribe. Traditionally, dream catchers were small talismans made of willow hoops, sinew, and feathers hung above a baby’s cradle to ward off evil. The dream catcher is associated with Spider Woman, a goddess who watches over many Native American tribes.
While many tribes have a dream catcher mythology, they were originally created by the Ojibwe tribe, so when I decided to include a dream catcher in my modern fairy tale “Smoke Whispers” from my collection When Magic Calls, I made its creator and female lead Ojibwe. Dream catchers have become an icon for Native Americans.
