The Scared is scared.

Cool video title, I thought, but what does that mean?

When I settled in to watch this seven-minute movie made by film-maker Bianca Giaever and her six-year-old friend Asa Baker-Rouse, I only expected to get a glimpse into the untethered imagination of a child.

Right on time, Bianca asked Asa what their movie should be about, and free storytelling arrived in the sweet and funny tale of Asa Bear and Toby Mouse.

And then, as gently as a cookie is dipped into a glass of milk, It was the child who told the adult what might be done about fear.

It took my breath away.

So, I will spend the next half-hour noticing my Scared. There will be tea and dogs and fireplaces and shoo-fly pie. Also the look of hydrangeas and the smell of wet dirt. Bright stars and babies and volcanoes. Then personal letters in the mailbox and fiddles and a hot shower. The scent of hamsters (I love this—truly) and sea turtles swimming. Thick socks, new books and the moment between breaths right before the music begins.

There will also be Asa Bear and Toby Mouse.

(What are yours? You will know what is being asked after you watch the movie. Have fun!)

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Editor: Rachel Nussbaum

Photo: Pixoto