"I don't have time today to train you. Indeed, attempting to alter the functionality of your powers now somewhat defeats the purpose of testing."

"Oh. But I mean, the way my power currently works isn't, like... I don't need to want something to exist. The way it works is that I believe it works and then it does. If there's nothing for me to believe in I dunno how I'd make it work."

"I'm still not sure what you mean by that."

He gropes for words. "It's like... Close your eyes?"

She does so.

"Keep them closed," he instructs, then he makes a marble appear and drops it onto the table, where it makes a soft noise. "What'd I just do?"

"Presumably you used your powers to create something. Probably a marble."

"Why do you think that?"

"It sounds like a marble."

"Right! So even if you didn't see it there was still something that made you believe I made a marble! And my power works like that, I don't want things to exist, I just... believe they do."

"But you can create things at will?"

"Only if I can believe they're there."

"Hmm, can you tell me about some of the things you've created?"

"Forcefield thingy. Superstrong mannequin person. Big floating duck. Marbles. Small things like marbles. A costume. Umm... Other things I think but I don't remember. Oh, balls of yarn."

"Context?"

"Forcefield thingy was to keep Maurice's alien attack away. Mannequin person saved me from a giant monster. The duck is because I can't swim. Marbles I made here. I don't remember other small things. The costume is because I wanna be a superhero. The yarn was to get Martin's cats away from me."

"But surely you didn't believe all those things were there before you created them?"

"No, but I believed they would be when I—I dunno, looked, or put my hand there, or whatever."

"Ah, you mean belief in your own power?"

"...I guess? It's more that I believed I would feel a marble when I closed my hand around the air, and so I did."

"That seems like the sort of limitation that's more psychologically imposed than anything."

"Okay. What should I do instead?"

"Well, what do you find difficult creating?"

"...nothing? Well, things I can't really believe are there, or when there are other people looking."

"You can't create things when being directly observed?"