To Believe in Yourself Is to Fly

'Excited' didn't quite describe it. Harlyn was absolutely thrilled to be starting her new life in the new city that had just recently been discovered! She heard from the news that this new city lets you have the ability to switch gravity on and off, but only for you!

Of course, new island, countries and cities emerge every day, but none of them sounded quite as intriguing as Antapolis. When the plane began to transcend down to the little blob of land, Harlyn was tempted to try and switch the gravity off, but the pilot had strictly advised them not to if they didn't want to die, so Harlyn tried her best to stay put.

Soon enough, the plane landed in the heart of the country-- the 1 week old but already buzzing city. 'Oh dear, oh dear!' Harlyn yelped as she skipped down the aeroplane stairs.

'First time here?' a man with a husky voice, who was walking beside her asked.

'Yes! It's a beautiful city already, isn't it?' she replied in a squeaky voice, glancing around at the very modern styled airport.

'It's not bad,' the man replied. 'Have you tried the gravity drop?' he chucked.

'No!' Harlyn's eyes widened like a child.

'Well go on then!' he said. Harlyn looked around and sure enough, most people were either floating a mere 10 centimetres or flying like a kite. She wondered how order was established in a city like Antapolis, where everyone was flying around aimlessly, but the childish part of her brain was screaming for her to touch the highest building in the city.

'Here goes nothing!' she said, closing her eyes and focused hard on flying. However, nothing happened. 'How to do it?' she frowned, but the man was already gone.

Dejected and frustrated, Harlyn walked to get her luggage. She looked around for the man but he was nowhere for as far as the eye could see. 'Nevermind then,' she muttered, rolling her eyes. She called for a taxi and got in, telling the driver to take her to the tallest building in the city.

'Ma'am, just curious, why would you want to go there? You won't even be allowed in!' the taxi driver exclaimed in bewilderment.

'I need to fly,' Harlyn grumbled, but not loud enough for the driver to understand and call her crazy.

Eventually, they reached the massive black building, where the blinds were all shut and door locked. The driver frowned at Harlyn, but she was determined. She knew what that building was-- it was the ASS, the Antapolis Space System.

Harlyn marched in through the towering gates and opened the door. The reception was deceivingly crowded. Many were lounging at the sofas, while others were walking, ver busy chattering. Not one person paid the slightest attention to Harlyn, so naturally, she pushed the up button on the nearest lift.

It chimed open and Harlyn walked into the vacant elevator. She punched the highest number she found and waited patiently for about a full minute.

Ding, it chimed again as it struck 100.

'Finally,' Harlyn muttered indignantly. The view was unsurprisingly incredible. The horizon stretched on mile after mile with the occasional skyscraper littered around. She could hardly listen to the honking of the cars and there weren't any people flying that high. 'Focus now, Harlyn,' she said to herself.

Harlyn walked to the ledge, where she could see the entire city beneath her feet. 'Here goes nothing,' she closed her eyes and focused hard. As a child, her father had always told her that if she failed to do something she wanted, then she should intensify the atmosphere so that she could either do it or fail completely.

'What are you doing?' a voice said from behind her just when she was about to step off completely.

Harlyn spun around instantaneously. 'It's you again,' she said to the man walking towards her. The same man she met at the airport.

'It is, isn't it?' he replied curiously.

'Don't worry, I'm not suicidal or anything, I just want to force the gravity out of me,' Harlyn smiled.

'Are you insane?' the man said, but still in that strangely calm voice.

'No?' Harlyn replied, feeling offended.

'That's what insane people say.'

'What do you suggest will make me be able to fly then?' Harlyn asked, keen on finding out whether the funny man was just idly making fun of her, or whether he had a real idea.

'Focus,' he said.

'You think I haven't tried that?' Harlyn bulged her eyes out, waving madly.

'No, not focus on flying, but focus on being able to fly,' the man said, his deep voice resonating within her. 'The only reason why you couldn't do it the first time is because you don't have much belief in yourself.'

Harlyn scoffed resentfully. 'That is the type of advice my grade 1 teacher used to tell me,' she mocked.

'And did you listen to her?' he asked. Harlyn opened her mouth to answer, but she was cut off by him. 'Look where that took you, jumping from city to city not because you want to find some great adventure, but because you have never believed in yourself enough to do what you really want to do.'

Needless to say, Harlyn was shocked. The words pierced through her soul like a blade. How did that man know so much about her? More importantly, why did he know so much about her?

Harlyn rolled her eyes at him but she took his advice. She focused hard, not on the thrill of being able to finally fly, but on her confidence. She told herself she really believed she could fly, just like everyone else, but it still did not work.

'Telling yourself you believe in yourself is not the same as actually believing in yourself,' the man smiled.

Harlyn was starting to feel like she should push the man off the ledge, but then she remembered he could easily wiggle himself out of the predicament by, well, flying.

'Then what do you want me to do? How am I supposed to believe in myself or whatever,' she scowled.

'When you were seven, the reason why you could swim was that you believed in yourself, not because your father swung you in the two-metre deep pool,' he said. 'In that split second, you decided you will swim, because you knew you had to do it. You had to do it, or you would die,' he said. 'At least that's what you believed.'

'So my father was right, I should increase the danger of the circumstances?' she asked. 'Why did you stop me from jumping?'

'Great idea, but wrong theory, if you jumped, you would've fallen to your death, because, unlike that time when you were seven, you do not believe in yourself right now.'

'How do you know?' Harlyn asked adamantly.

'Just try again, but this time, believe you can do it, because you can, and you will,' he grinned. Harlyn tried again, she was convinced the man was some sort of fairy godfather, a seer, or some kind of magician.

Astonishingly enough, Harlyn flew. She soared through the sky like a comet, screaming on top of her lungs in utter ecstasy. 'I did it!' she said, before plummeting back to the ground because again, she was in such disbelief at her own success.

The man watched her fall and shout in agony, but he laughed through the process. 'You never learn, do you? Stubborn kid,' he shook his head and walked off the ledge.

Harlyn groaned in pain, the next few weeks were definitely going to be terrible, but at the very least, she finally figured out why she was never able to do all the various sorts of tricks every city offered.

That was the thing she liked about Antapolis. She learnt so many things there, met her husband and found her forever home, but she would never forgive it for the 2-month recovery she had to endure after the excruciating fall. Why did she always have to learn things the hard way?