Pacha's Pajamas: A Story Written By Nature

Pacha was a little girl with big dreams. Her dreams were bigger than the biggest elephant at the zoo. Her dreams were bigger than the Andes Mountains, homeland to her parents and ancestors. She dreamed of lost secrets and upside-down rainbows. She dreamed of dancing in front of huge crowds. But her biggest dream was to be an everyday hero, like discovering the cure to sadness or conquering sickness with a deep breath. Sadly, real life wasn't so dreamy. Pacha was feeling a little fluster coming on. Maybe it was the weird weather lately and the storm clouds rolling through her city (though they really could use some rain). Maybe it was the tinge of smoke in the air or that she had to dodge trash blowing through the streets. That AND she had to perform the next day in her school's Earth Day musical! Whatever Pacha's problems were, life sometimes seemed easier when she hid in her room or at the zoo caves, frozen in time like a frog under a winter lake.When Pacha and her father arrived home from school, she started wheezing and coughing."I. . .feel like. . .Ms. Wheezer threw a hurricane down my throat!"It was another terrible breathing attack and her toes scrunched up in pain. Ms. Wheezer was a name that she had given her breathing problem, trying to make it sound as silly as she could so that it wouldn't be so serious. But that didn't work this time, as this felt like the worst attack ever.With blue lips, she huffed and puffed. Her father calmed her by cuddling her into his arms, encouraging her to let the feelings pass like clouds in the sky. She finally found her breath as she took a deep draw on the inhaler her father held for her. As if right on time, her mother entered the front door.Pacha's mother set the groceries on the floor. "Amor, did you have another attack?"Pacha fell into her mother's arms and cried: "But why does this happen to me?!"Her Mother responded calmly, "Ai mi vida, I know this is so hard for you, but let's remember that struggling only makes it worse. If you see life like a dream, even nightmares can't take you off track!"Pacha was still sobbing though: "Can you ask Ms. Wheezer to get a new job? I'm sick of being sick!" She cried again, still feeling a choke in the back of her throat."Well, you're the only one that can fire Ms. Wheezer. . .but I have something that could help. . .something for you to wear like a hero's cape, especially on nights like tonight."With that, Pacha's mother brought out a colorful pair of pajamas, which looked like they were glowing. They were covered with dancing animals and singing plants. "These are magical pajamas!" her mother said lovingly. "When I was your age, my mother made me a pair of pajamas woven from baby Alpaca---a fabric once used by royalty and medicine people. She told me that every woven stitch was a prayer, thanking Pachamama for my life.""¡Ai, Mamá! They're as soft as a chinchilla's belly!" exclaimed Pacha as she giggled for the first time all day. Hugging her mother and feeling a tingle of hope in her heart, Pacha closed her eyes. She imagined the PJs were a new best friend, a magic carpet carrying her to distant lands or a wingsuit to fly with hummingbirds. Perhaps this pair of jammies could be her new dream-catcher? Somehow being around the pajamas made her remember all of the things she loved about being a kid.That evening, as Pacha put on her new PJs, she had a funny feeling that her life was changing. What's more, she had lots of questions for her father."Does the sky breathe?" she wondered, curious as to whether the sky noticed all the smoke and storms in the air these days. "And, before people, did animals make the rules?"Pacha paused as her eyes rested on an old gorilla mask on the shelf near her bed; it was still hanging around from the Halloween performance last year when she forgot her lines. Putting it on, she pretended to dance like a goofy gorilla, exclaiming, "Can I be a dancing girl-illa in these pajamas?" as if all her problems had gone away.Her father laughed and said, "So many questions, mi angelita. Maybe if you jump in bed faster than a little cheetah, you will find the answers in your dreams." Pacha stuffed the gorilla mask into her pajama pocket, snuggled into bed and drifted off into a dream.

"Pacha's Pajamas" is a critical tool in giving children a sense of themselves, the power of their dreams and the natural world around them!" --- Mos Def / Yasiin Bey, Actor and Recording Artist"Pacha's Pajamas" is a wonderful adventure into the ancient connections we as human beings must now acknowledge. By giving voice to the plants and animals, the story creates awareness of life beyond the human being." --- Mona Polacca, International Council of Indigenous Grandmothers"I love watching Pacha as she demonstrates her joyful dance of connection; her story shows how one imaginative child can help save our planet." --- Seena B. Frost, Author and SoulCollage Founder