The Child

Thank you for the most beautiful dream you haven't had yet.

You are a child.

You think about superpowers. Random images of superheroes pass through your mind and you want to choose your favorite superpower. Super speed, like the Flash, or super strength, or becoming invisible, moving objects with your mind, reading thoughts, or teleporting? These superpowers are so fascinating that you can't decide which one you like more; each has something special, but some would be hard to control, maybe even dangerous. What would it be like to hear everyone's thoughts—would it be interesting or annoying? You want superpowers—several, even—but can you just pick them like at a supermarket? And what if you already have something special, only you don't know it yet? How can you find out? Try everything until you figure it out. And if nothing shows up? You've already tried super speed, moving objects with your mind, lifting heavy things, and something else you can't quite remember, and there was nothing special. But maybe you didn't try the right thing; try again—you decide to keep looking.

You bite your lip until it hurts a little and stare at the walls, waiting for ideas to come. You see a Superman poster about to fall, the one where you drew big ears. Would he hear better now? You smile and wonder if you just gave him extra superpowers by drawing them. That would be really cool.

And what if your superpower can't be seen, and can't be heard, can't be felt. How can you tell it's there? What proof could you have to convince others? But maybe you don't need to convince anyone, maybe only yourself. Would it still be true, or just imaginary? And if it were imaginary, so what? I'm allowed to imagine what I want, believe what I want, and do anything—almost anything. If I imagine a superpower that's mine alone, exactly as I want it, that's super cool. I can imagine anything. I can be anyone. I am strong, fearless, and I can even teleport!

You press the fingers of both hands together and try to invent a gesture that would fit teleportation. You've got a smile on your face, and you think you know a big secret. Ah, yes… where do I teleport to? You close your eyes and look for the most beautiful place. You search: not this, not this… It's so hard to decide. By the time you make up your mind, you've forgotten the teleportation move; it doesn't work anymore. You need training here too; you decide to come back tomorrow to the superpowers game and set everything up.

See you tomorrow?