She was sitting on a bench, blindly staring at the clear blue sky, gaily dotted with a couple fat white clouds. Something startled the birds in a nearby tree and they all took flight, the sound of their flapping wings making her turn her head to look at them, her eyes filling with tears.
She wanted to go with them, to stretch the wings she didn't have and soar in the sky along with them. She wanted to live her human life behind and fly until she didn't have to anything. She wanted to glide on the wings of the wind. She wanted to move from point A to point B without having to rely on her legs. She wanted to fly.
"You know that saying," a voice said next to her, "about how if God had wanted man to fly, he would have given them wings?"
She turned her head and looked at the man sitting on the bench next to her. She blinked a few times when she recognized him. But it couldn't be. He was...
"Well," he went on, smiling, "it wasn't true. Yep, bullshit, all of it."
"It is?" she asked, her voice nothing more than a strangled whisper.
"Oh yeah. I can fly, you can fly. Hell, we can fly."
"Of course you can. You're not real, you're an d--"
"I'm not real?"
He pinched the skin of her thigh showing beyond the hem of her skirt, making her squeal in pain and shock.
"Ouch! That hurt!"
"Did it really? Really hurt?"
"Yes."
"And could I have done that if I wasn't real?"
"There are other ways of proving your point," she said, rubbing her smarting skin.
"This was the most fun way of proving it."
"For who?"
"Me, of course."
"You know, you seemed a lot nicer on TV than you are right now."
"Oh come on, I am nice."
"Please."
"Hey, I was going to show you how you can fly too but you're being bitchy so forget about it!"
He started to get up but she curled her fingers into the sleeve of his white jacket.
"Stop! Please, I'm sorry. Teach me how to fly."
He stopped and looked down into her pleading eyes. It wasn't often that the big guys up there allowed humans to fly but they knew that every once in a while, humans needed that extra boost. And she needed it right now.
"All right," he said, smiling at her. "Now walk with me while I give you the basics."
"OK."
She tucked her arm into the crook of his elbow and together, they walked through the park.
"You see," he said, "humans can fly, but what they're missing is the will."
"But I have the will."
"But not the belief. More often than not, when you try, you think you're going to flat fall on your face."
She lowered her head in shame, the ring of truth of his voice making her blush.
"It's OK. All you need is this," he said, taking a ring out of his pocket.
"What is this?" she asked, "something like Dumbo's feather?"
She looked down at the white jade ring in his hand, noticing he wore a similar one on the middle finger of his left hand.
"You can look at it like that. But it works."
"Will I ever be able to fly without it?"
"Yes. A lot of the human flyers stop wearing them after a while."
"There are others?"
"We're very proud of this one," he said, pulling a picture out of his pocket.
"You are fucking with me," she sighed, looking at a picture of Michael Jordan flying toward a basket, an orange ball in his hand, his body in full extension.
"No. I can show you how to fly but I'm NOT allowed to do that."
"You know what I mean!"
"Yes I do, and yes, he is one of ours."
"Wow! Does that mean I'll get to play basketball and make millions too?"
"Funny girl!"
"Yeah well, I have to have something."
"Listen," he said, turning to her, "you have many talents but you're keeping them locked away inside of you. This thing," he said, holding up the ring, "this ring, it'll help you unleash those talents and show them to the world."
"And teach me out to fly?"
"You already know how to fly," he said with a smile, "look around you."
When she did, she saw they were up in the sky, far above the trees and that much closer to the blue sky she'd dreamt of so often.
"Oh my God!"
"You can call me Owen," he grinned at her.
"You're my favorite Hart," she said, hugging him.
"I know."
"So, whenever I want to, I can just fly?"
"Yep. It's very easy, you know how."
"I just have to believe?"
"You already do. And whenever, you think you don't, know that I believe you can fly."
With a quick peck on her cheek, Owen disappeared and she remained in the air, floating, smiling. But as the reality of the moment dawned upon her, she started to drop down to the ground very quickly. But before she made a painful return to Earth, she remembered Owen's words and told them to herself out loud:
"I believe I can fly."
And fly she did! She soared, becoming one with the sky and knowing that she had the key, clasped in her hand, the ring that gave her the will and the power to fly.
I Believe I Can Fly
I used to think that I could not go on
And life was nothing but an awful song
But now I know the meaning of true love
I'm leaning on the everlasting arms
If I can see it, then I can do it
If I just believe it, there's nothing to it
[1] - I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
See I was on the verge of breaking down
Sometimes silence can seem so loud
There are miracles in life I must achieve
But first I know it starts inside of me, oh
If I can see it, then I can be it
If I just believe it, there's nothing to it
[Repeat 1]
Hey, cuz I believe in me, oh
If I can see it, then I can do it
If I just believe it, there's nothing to it
[Repeat 1]
Hey, if I just spread my wings
I can fly
I can fly
I can fly, hey
If I just spread my wings
I can fly
Fly-eye-eye