I was well aware that the taxi fare would likely consume a significant portion of my remaining money, but time was of the essence, and I couldn't afford to take any more risks.

As I sat in the back of the car, my hands suddenly reached for my mobile phone. I was startled for a moment before realizing that it was Cala trying to communicate with me. It was a clever move on her part to start typing her message instead of speaking out loud.

“Do you know how to do it?”

I read the words Cala had typed on my phone, but I couldn't grasp their meaning. I quickly typed back a response,

"Do what?"

She snorted, exasperated.

“How to heal him” - came the answer.

I blinked at the message, realizing what she meant. How can I heal him? The ring was supposed to help, right?

I replied, feeling a mix of confusion and desperation.

"I'll just say the words, 'I want to heal you'?"

She shook her head and replied,

"No, that's the passphrase White Flower has used for her spell, but I doubt it would still work. Let me do it, okay?"

I was feeling unsure of what to do, but I was worried that giving her some kind of 'carte blanche' would be too risky. Who knows what she would do?

“OK, but what will you do?” - I asked

She sighed. Obviously, she was no fan of typing messages on the phone.

She glanced at the mobile phone, her expression serious yet determined. "You cannot use that passphrase as the ring has been used. There is some white magic inside, but it does not feel properly structured for a spell. I'll try to tap into the remaining magic in the ring and direct it towards Matt's healing. It might not be as powerful as before, but I'll do my best. Just trust me," she replied with a reassuring smile.

So much for typing the messages instead of speaking aloud to myself! I sighed and shrugged it off.

"OK, You do it!”

The taxi came to a halt right in front of the hospital.

In a rush, I paid the fare and hurriedly got out, quickly ascending the marble stairs.

As I approached the postoperative area, I spotted the three boys, Mike, Tom, and Hew, huddled together in an enclave along the corridor. They greeted me with warm hugs, and I soon learned that Matt was in a nearby room, in critical condition.

As soon as I managed to wriggle out from their embrace, I slipped into Matt's room.

That's where Cala took over. First, she focused on the ring, and then there was a moment when she hesitated. She gasped as if she wanted to tell me something but then reluctantly gave up. Did she get second thoughts now?

It took her longer than I expected, but then finally, she approached him with confident steps. She touched him gently, and I saw the almost invisible silver dust seep into the tips of my fingers as she made contact with him.

It works! This means it works, isn't it?

Once more, it took her longer than I had expected, as if she was doing small iterations of the same mini-healing spell. But then, finally, I heard him take a deep breath, and to my surprise, he opened his eyes to look at me. A tortured smile tried to form on his face.

Our eyes met, and she smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't move. You'll be fine!" she whispered in his ear.

He tried to say something, I saw his lips moving, but she pressed a finger on her lips, signaling him to keep silent, and then turned to leave the room.

Some alarm must have been triggered because a medical sister quickly entered the room.

I tried to say something, but suddenly I realized I couldn't control my lips, nor my body. I was once again cut off, just like before when White Flower was in control.

The sister gave me only a glacial glance and went straight to Matt to check the monitors.

"What happened?" Hew asked anxiously as he came to meet me, followed closely by Mike and Tom.

"He opened his eyes," Cala responded calmly, reassuringly. "He will be okay."

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"Really? Are you sure? Did you talk with the nurse?" Tom questioned, peering into Matt's room as a doctor walked by.

Cala nodded with confidence.

"No, but I know he will be alright."

Hew visibly relaxed upon hearing this, but Tom and Mike still seemed skeptical and unsure.

As I stood there, watching together with them the activity in Matt's room, my mind swirled with confusion and worry.

I couldn't comprehend why I was blocked from interacting or communicating. Was this some unforeseen side effect of Cala's magic? Did the spell tamper with the pathways in my brain, leaving me blocked from my own body? I felt helpless, unable to even speak with her. What should I do?

Despite my incipient panic, I tried to remain calm and trust my alter ego.

I hoped she would eventually wonder why I wasn't taking any action and start asking questions. The challenge would be finding a way to respond when I couldn't speak or interact. I needed to hold on to my faith in her and believe that she would guide us through this puzzling situation.

In no time, I received the explanation:

"Don't panic, it's me; I'm back!" a voice said in my mind—a voice I knew and recognized: White Flower.

I should have caught on earlier. The way she moved, the way she acted—it was all White Flower. Relief washed over me, only to be quickly replaced by another wave of panic: she healed him, which means they'll know it's me. The realization flooded me with fear, and I blurted out,

"Oh no! You healed him! They'll find out, and the army will come for me! We need to run!"

She chuckled softly.

"Yes, I did heal him, but relax, I didn't perform a full heal—just some small healing pulses to help him survive. Cala explained the situation to me. He won't die, and that's what's important, right?"

With her, it's always as if she enjoys intensifying my panic just to soothe me afterward.

The small healing pulses. I should have thought about that before panicking.

As she chatted happily with the boys, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I was happy to have my alter ego back.

Having my alter ego back meant I could cast spells again, right? I could even sing again! I felt complete, as if I had regained a missing part of myself, even if theoretically she was not... Oh, well...

Strange how these things work!

We left the hospital shortly afterward. The atmosphere in the group was more relaxed now that we had received good news about Matt. The doctors informed us that he was improving surprisingly well.

Oh, well... Tom and Mike had been truly surprised to hear that, but Hew not so much. He just exchanged a glance with me.

I hadn't realized how much I had missed them. It felt good to be together again!

Taking Tom and Mike by the hand, with Hew leading the way and everyone chatting happily, we headed to the same restaurant I had visited with Hew in the morning.

Even in the evening, the same waiter and the same old cook were still working.

The breakfast with Hew seemed like such a long time ago, and yet it was still the same day! So many things have happened in this short period of time!

When everything ends well, it's all good, right?

Matt was now, hopefully, out of danger, I had my witchy alter ego back, and I would be able to cast spells again if needed. Maybe I could fix everything now!

As we ate and talked, I felt no rush to take over from Flo. It had been such a stressful day that being a spectator in my own body was suddenly a relief.

They had plenty of short stories and news, and for a change, the news was positive! They shared stories about how people reacted to their suddenly changed status, how some individuals treated them the same as before while others acted differently. For instance, some girls who used to ignore them completely suddenly found them fascinating, but there were also a couple of cases of hateful messages that they had received without any obvious reason.

Our songs were becoming increasingly successful, and we were gradually gaining a much larger audience. Initially, there were just tens, maybe a couple of hundred plays on our songs, but then the numbers skyrocketed into thousands, tens of thousands, and kept growing rapidly, reaching hundreds of thousands with no sign of slowing down.

They were filled with enthusiasm, happiness, and pride. The success far surpassed all our expectations.

Matt's accident had been like a hammer blow to them.

Previously Matt had tried to assure them that I was alright and would be back, that I was just a little nervous, but everything would be okay; however, his accident shattered their hopes.

Without both me and Matt, there would be no band, and to top it all, they feared losing their best friend. Their whole new world had been crumbling around them.

Questions swirled at me. What had happened? Why did I leave? Were there any issues they were unaware of? Was I dissatisfied with something they had done or how money was being shared? They were left wondering about the reasons behind my sudden departure.

Flo did her best to soothe their worries, and Hew assisted her in calming them down.

She attempted to reassure them, suggesting that my nervousness might have been the cause of my sudden absence, but everything was fine now. Hew was aware of the true reason behind my departure, but should I also explain it to the rest of the band?

As I pondered over this, a sensation of movement stirred in my bowels. Could it be that something was amiss with the food? Such a swift reaction was surprising. I hadn't consumed anything else since early morning, so what could have caused it?

The sensation in my bowels intensified as if they had taken a life of their own.

Flo fell silent and shifted her gaze towards the saucer, even casting a spell over it.

I was taken aback by her actions, especially since everyone was watching.

Suddenly, I felt the urge to gag as something moved inside my neck, and the bowel movements grew even stronger.

Out of nowhere, White Flower abruptly stood up, her hand covering her mouth and nearly knocking over the table as she rushed towards the toilet. The chair I had been sitting on toppled over.

Once there, she began to vomit... worms.

One after another, strange colored worms, about ten centimeters long, wriggled out of her mouth. They changed colors, slowly fading into a dull grey as they ceased moving as if they died from asphyxia.