rible his life was, and wondering if it would ever get better. Then, the worst thing of all happened.
In some ways it might be good, he thought. At least the fighting will stop. But then he wouldn’t have a fam-
ily anymore. When his parents separated, he thought it was the worst thing that could happen to a
kid... and he felt reallyrotten.
One night after re-watching some cartoons he’d videotaped, Steve fell asleep and dreamed about
a spaceship landing beside his bed. It was big, round, and bright with lights. Slowly, the spaceship’s
gangway lowered and, against the lights, Steve saw an emerging figure in a space suit with a glass-
topped helmet. His suit bore the name “Captain Empowerment.”
Captain Empowerment took off his helmet and, before Steve could stop himself, he asked the
captain, “Take me away on your spaceship. I can’t stand all these horrible things anymore.”
In a calm, deep voice, Captain Empowerment answered, “Sometimes rotten things happen to
the best people, even to kids. I can’t change what is happening or take you away from it, but there
might be something I can do to help. Come aboard.”
Steve followed Captain Empowerment through the weird insides of the craft until they reached
a cylindrical compartment. Captain Empowerment said, “This is a time capsule. Hop inside, turn the
time dial to two weeks ahead and see what happens.”
Steve entered and Captain Empowerment closed the door behind him. In front Steve saw a dial that
commenced with today’s date and went ahead for the rest of his life. As Captain Empowerment had sug-
gested, he turned the dial on two weeks and a mechanical voice said, “Welcome. I am RALFI, the com-
puter of your future. Do you want to see two weeks ahead as it could be or as you would prefer it to be?”
Steve was a little surprised by the question. He hadn’t expected to have a choice. As if reading
his mind, RALFI said, “To some degree, we have a choice about the future and how it will be.”
“Let me see how it could be first,” asked Steve. Immediately he found himself sitting on a chair
in his bedroom, his elbows on his thighs, his hands clasped in front of him, his head leaning forward,
tears rolling down his cheeks, thinking about all the terrible things that had been happening to him.
A few seconds was enough. “Help get me out of here,” he begged RALFI. “Take me into the future
of how I would rather it be.”
Instantly, Steve was playing football with friends in the neighborhood park. They were laugh-
ing, joking, and having fun. After the game when he got home and sat in his room he started to feel
sad again, thinking about King, Danny, and his parents. Then he heard RALFI’s computer-like voice
in the distant background say, “It is okay to feel sad. Some sad things have happened to you—and it
is okay to feel good at times, too. I can show you what could happen,” said RALFI, “but I can’t make
it happen for you. For you to be where you want to be in two weeks’ time, can you tell me what you
need to do to make the change?”
Steve thought. Some things he’d like to change but knew he couldn’t. He couldn’t bring back
King, get Danny’s parents to move back, or make his parents be happy. Almost thinking out aloud,
he found himself answering RALFI, “There are some things I can’t change but maybe I can start to
get out with my friends again, play, laugh, and have some good times. Maybe I can remember more
of the fun I used to have with King rather than think about how sad it is without him. Maybe I can
write or e-mail Danny and perhaps look for a new best friend among the other kids at school. I can’t
do anything about what Mom and Dad have decided so it may be best to enjoy the time I spend with
each of them, separately. Hopefully, they might be happier now.” As he voiced his thoughts, Steve
thought he noticed a little smile on RALFI’s computer dial.
DEVELOPING SKILLSDeveloping Life Skills 161