Over the Rainbow Bridge

Every night, after the pillow was fluffed, after the blanket was tucked under her chin, and after the room became quiet and blue, a little girl closed her eyes.

And every night, just before sleep came tiptoeing in, someone she loved whispered:

The little girl smiled.

Because she knew the way.

First, she had to listen for the tiny silver bell that rang only in dreams.

Then she had to wiggle her toes exactly three times.

One.

Two.

Three.

And then she had to imagine a sky so blue, so big, and so full of floating candy clouds, that her whole bed began to feel light as a feather.

And suddenly…

her blanket was no longer a blanket.

It was a little boat.

Her pillow was no longer a pillow.

It was a fluffy white cloud.

And her bedroom floor was no longer the bedroom floor.

It had become a sparkling river, flowing through the middle of…

Takatuka Land.

There were mountains with sleepy faces. There were flowers that giggled when bees tickled them. There were tiny houses with round doors and warm yellow windows. There were pink trees full of lanterns. And far away, on a hill, stood a castle with blue roofs and flags waving in the night.

But the little girl knew exactly where she wanted to go first.

She stepped from her pillow-cloud onto a path of soft golden stones.

Ahead of her was the rainbow bridge.

It curved over the sparkling river in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

Each color made a different sound when she stepped on it.

Red went: boom-boom.

Orange went: bop-bop.

Yellow went: ding-ding.

Green went: la-la.

Blue went: whoooosh.

And purple went: twinkle-twinkle.

The little girl laughed.

Hello again, rainbow bridge!

And the bridge answered in all its colors:

On the other side of the bridge stood the lemonade stand.

It had a yellow roof, pink stripes, little glowing lamps, and a wooden sign that said:

Fresh Lemonade Pink Lemonade Strawberry Splash

Behind the counter stood a small, round, fuzzy creature with big shiny eyes, tiny paws, and fur like a golden dandelion.

He waved both arms in the air.

The little girl clapped.

Tako the furry fuzzle bounced so happily that his fur puffed up like a tiny sun.

He placed a little cup on the counter.

The lemonade fizzed.

It glowed.

It made a sound like:

The little girl took a sip.

And immediately, her ears heard the flowers singing, the river humming, and the clouds whispering secrets to the stars.

Tako leaned closer.

His big eyes became round.

The little girl looked around.

Everything seemed beautiful.

The rainbow bridge shone. The lemonade stand sparkled. The unicorn bench waited under the pink tree.

“What happened?” she asked.

Tako pointed up at the sky.

High above the land, one little star was blinking.

Not bright.

Not happy.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

That is the Goodnight Star,” said Tako. “It helps every dream in Takatuka Land become soft and cozy before morning. But tonight, it has lost its bedtime sparkle.

The little girl looked at the tiny blinking star.

How do we help it?

Tako puffed up proudly.

He held up one tiny paw.

He held up another paw.

Then he wiggled both ears.

The little girl smiled.

Tako jumped onto the counter, then down again.