Once upon a time, there was a boy named Fan with a very special power. Every morning when he woke, he could remember the dreams of everyone in his house, as clearly as if he had watched someone else’s movie.
He saw his mother’s dream of going back to school one day. He saw his father’s dream of opening a small restaurant. He saw his little sister’s dream of having more friends at school.
At first, Fan didn’t know what to do with what he saw. It felt like knowing secrets he’d never asked to know.
Then one day, he saw his grandfather’s dream — his grandfather, who was old and very ill. In the dream, Grandfather wished he could play chess with his grandson just one more time, before it was too late.
Fan jumped out of bed and ran to find his grandfather, sitting in his chair by the window.
“Grandpa, will you play chess with me?” he asked.
Grandfather turned to him, his eyes suddenly brighter. “I’ve wanted to play for so long, but I was afraid you wouldn’t have time.”
They played for three hours. Grandfather laughed more than Fan had seen him laugh in an entire year.
After that, Fan began using his power to help his family — not by telling them he knew their dreams, but by simply doing the things they wanted but never dared to ask for.
He took his mother to look at courses at the university nearby. He took his father to try food at the weekend market. He invited his sister to a school event together.
Slowly, his family grew happier, without anyone knowing quite why.
Fan realized his power wasn’t really about knowing other people’s dreams — it was about having the courage to do what others needed but were afraid to ask for.
And that didn’t require any special power at all. Anyone could do it, if they paid enough attention and cared enough.
Moral: The people who love us sometimes have needs they’re too afraid to say out loud. Paying attention to and caring for the people around us is a special power everyone already has — we just need to practice using it.
