I started to dress. I put some jogging clothes on.

“White Flower!”

“Yes?”

“Would you be so kind and leave? Just leave me alone?”

I was whispering, afraid Clara or Lola would listen.

“Why do you whisper? Why don't you talk in your mind?”

“Because this sounds freakish. Only crazy people talk in their mind.”

“Oh, and talking alone aloud is ok?”

“Well, surprisingly, yes. Many people do talk on the telephone... Wait a minute. Why don't you answer?”

“I cannot leave by myself.”

“Can't you even try?”

“That might kill you. I do not want to try that.”

“Oh.”

I finished dressing up. I tiptoed out of the room and carefully closed the main door behind me. Clara was still in the bathroom, and Lola was in her room, probably sleeping.

I've skipped breakfast, too concerned with my problems to risk being questioned by Clara about my tattoo.

The conversation with the AI was freakish, but at least it did so as if it would care about me. That's at least an encouraging point. I went to the basement to pick up my bicycle.

My bicycle... It was an old bicycle that remained in the cellar from the previous tenant. My parents were against me riding a bike here, they feared an accident, but I did it from time to time. Of course, nobody knew about it, one of my little secrets.

I have been riding bicycles since I was three. True, the streets in our district were much safer, but I knew well the rules.

I was happy to see it was still in a good state. I needed to pump in some air from time to time, but the tires were ok now.

I pushed it outside the house and left.

“Wow, what do you use for a spell? How does this thing work?”

I laughed.

“There is no spell. This is a bicycle, and it works with only my muscle power; that's why I am so slow.”

“Slow? You are fast. And what are these fast-running carriages? What is this for a strange world?”

“These are cars, not carriages.”

“I cannot find out what spell makes them go?”

“There is no spell. There is no magic in this world. They work with gas or electricity.”

"Gas or electricity?"

It was a lonely road but not completely deserted, and a car passed by now and then. There was no protected lane for bicycles on this road, which is why ma was against me riding a bike here.

I shook my head.

Interesting to see that the AI was still playing the role. It did so as if it would not know anything about this world.

Finally, I came to the bifurcation where I could leave the asphalt road. From here on, it was a forest road, with probably no cars.

“Ah, forest! It is so much better!”

I kept pedaling. Soon my mobile will lose connection.

“What is that device?”

“This is my mobile phone.”

“What is a mobile phone? And why did you stop to look at it?”

A curious little thing are you, isn't it?

“It is a tool with which you can contact people. I want to check if it still has a connection.”

“How does that work without a spell? A Connection? To where?”

To your server...

I did not answer. She was not angry. At least she did not show that she was angry.

The forest became darker and darker. I came to a valley. Yes, about here somewhere, I should lose connection. I checked again. Yep, my mobile did lose its connection! Yeeees!

“Are you still there?”

Silence. Oh great! It worked!

“Do you mean me?”

I sighed. She took her time to answer.

“Yes. I mean you.”

“Why do you keep asking? Where else could I be?”

I was walking now beside the bicycle as the road transformed into a path between trees and bushes. I could ride from time to time, but I needed to walk more often. I still hoped that there was a chance that she would disappear. Maybe it has a better connection than my phone, but if I get deeper into the forest?

A noise behind me made me suddenly realize that I was alone in a dark corner of the woods without any phone connection.

“Don't move!”

The voice froze the blood in my veins. The voice of a man. He had only whispered that, yet it sounded like a thousand-watt scream in my ears.

“Well, well, what do we have here?”

I dropped the bicycle and started to run. No, I do not freeze in place. He yelled behind me.

“He! What do you do! Hey! Lady!”

He ran behind me. I jumped through bushes like a deer chased by wolves. It scratched my skin, but I ignored that. I came into a meadow. I realized with horror that my way was blocked: tight bushes all around. I had no chance to run further. I turned to face my attacker. I was already seeing the news: a high-school girl was found dead in the forest after being beaten and violated. Repeatedly violated and brutally beaten. Tears were in my eyes. Is this my fate?

A voice spoke in my head.

“Let me lead! Let me blast him!”

I took a deep breath and looked at my future tormentor. Can you look your victim into the eyes?

It was an older man. He looked at me reproachfully.

“You scared them! You damn mountain bikers, you have no care for the forest!”

All I could say was:

"That was no mountain bike?"

He took a better look at me.

“Now, now, there is no reason to cry for that?”

I raised my eyes and looked at him. He did not seem intent to hit me.

“What do you do here?”

He watched me, somehow ashamed.

“Ahm. I live here. From time to time... when there is no other way...ahm.. yes... ok. Why do you cry?”

“You are not going to do... ah, not going to harm me?”

“I can blast him!”

He watched me with horrified eyes:

“Why would I do that?”

“But... but... why did you tell me not to move?”

“Oh, that? Because of the birds. Have you not seen them?”

“Birds? What birds?”

“The redwing blackbirds? They were mating! You disturbed them!”

“You stopped me because two fucking birds were mating?”

“Ahm, yes?”

"Why did you run behind me?"

"You dropped your phone; here it is!"

He handed it to me. Yes, it was my phone. I sighed.

“What are you doing here?”

“I told you. I am homeless... ahm, this is my home.”

He pointed towards some shabby construction at the end of the clearing that would not pass for a house, not even with the neanderthal.

I sighed. He looked at me. It was his turn to ask:

“What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for a place without internet.”

“Here? Without internet?”

I nodded. He shook his head.

“It does not work!”

“What do you mean? My mobile lost its connection?”

“Oh, that. Pfah!” - He pointed up - “Satellites. There is always a connection!”

I sighed. Fucking fuck. There is your connection to your server. A homeless man knows better than me.

“If you want a place without internet, you should go to Tohera!”

“Tohera?”

“Yeah. It is that crazy woman who built herself a Faraday cage. She sleeps inside it; she says it is the only place where she can sleep without hearing voices.”

“Without hearing voices?”

Fuck. Me and some crazy nut.

“Where is that cage?”

“I thought you would be interested in Tohera's cage. She thinks of building more for money. A good business opportunity, she says. Many people will want to find a place without interference since they build the satellites net. Well, you are the first one so far to show interest!”

“Yes. Where it is?”

“Just behind you. Behind those bushes.”

"There is a way behind those bushes?"

"Yes, you just need to know how."

I was damn afraid it was another trick, but no, there was indeed a Tohera behind those bushes, and her Faraday cage was some kind of a dog house made of smaller metal barrels.

“Tin cans?”

“No, no. They have to work electromagnetically, or else you still have waves inside. And if you want to have it one hundred percent working, we have to close the door and make the connections between the door and the wall.”

Tohera explained it happily to me. Inside the doghouse, there was just enough room for the two of us.

“Are you still here?”

“Ahm, yes? What are you trying to do?”

I looked at Tohera:

“Can it be that there is still a connection?”

She shook her head. She explained importantly:

“No. I feel perfect silence. I also have measured it, trust me, I have some devices.”

“But I can still hear...”

She smiled. A sad smile.

“Then it is in your head, honey, whatever you hear...”

I closed my eyes and started to cry.

“Whoaa. Girl, what happens?”

“I am getting crazy... I played with the dream interface, and I now hear voices! What can I do?”

I cried and cried. Tohera and later Max, I learned the man's name was Max, tried their best to cheer me. I had breakfast with them. There was some bread Tohera had gathered from a supermarket yesterday evening and some onions with some eggs Max had gathered from the woods. I left them some change; it was all I had in my pockets.

When I left them, I was very depressed. Max accompanied me back to my bicycle, and I started walking back towards the town.

“You are depressed because of me.”

I did not answer.

“I am sorry, but I can assure you that you are not crazy.”

“I am not crazy? I hear voices in my head. Is this not crazy enough for you?”

“Why would you be crazy if you hear voices?”

“Because you do not exist. You are only in my imagination!”

“That's not true!”

I heard a noise and a voice behind me again. It was almost the same tone as before.

“Now, what do we have here?”

“Oh, shut up! I'm not going to get impressed a second time! Where are the fucking birds?”

I turned. It was not the old man there. Three guys, not very appetizing people, were behind me. One of them had spoken and now continued:

“I think we have a crazy bird that will get fucked!”

That was the smaller of the gang who spoke.

“Let me lead. I will show you I exist!”

“You lead! Take the lead or whatever...”

I said it aloud, and I lost control of my limbs. Suddenly I was moving with much more grace. I saw it in their eyes. This, however, won me no brownie points with them.

The bigger one came and tried to grab my hand. He flew backward like a catapult would have thrown him. The other two hesitated a second and jumped at me... and flew back catapulted at their turn.

They were all on the ground wailing, trying hard to get back on their feet. White Flower approached the guy that had named me crazy bitch. She grabbed him by his crotch, and another wave of shocks shattered the man.

She looked at her hand with disgust.

“Pfuh!”

A fire flame cleaned the hand. She looked again at the three with a dark look.

“Next time, I will not be as kind.”

She turned and walked calmly away, ignoring them. I was speechless.

She gathered my bicycle and asked me:

“Satisfied?”

“Wow, wow. Was this real?”

“Do you want to see them again and put your hands on those idiots to realize they are real?”

“No, no. What have you done?”

“A tiny thunder spell. These spawns have no magic in them; a higher spell would have cooked them alive.”

“A thunder spell?”

“Yes.”

“What else can you spell?”

“A lot. You do know me!? We've been together with Cala. Tell me, what happened to Cala?”

“Cala is not here. Cala cannot travel between worlds.”

“But you can?!”

“Well, ahm. Yes obviously... Wait, can you make the tattoo disappear?”

“Sure, I told you I can do it.”

“Then do it.”

“Already done.”

“Wow. Can you give me back the lead?”

“Of course. Anyhow, I cannot ride this kind of thing.”

“It is called a bicycle.”

Back in control over my limbs, I took my bicycle. My brain was trying hard to make sense of what had just happened. It is one thing to hear voices and something else to shoot thunder and fire from your hands.

What can this mean?

Did I imagine this, or was that real?

If it was not real, if I only imagine things, then I am crazy. If it is real, then... I have a witch in my head. A fairy. OK, how could she get there? The dream interface with the feedback thing cannot create magic. It cannot create fairies. These do not exist.

But a witch, a real witch, could have created that.

Can it be that I am a witch? Let's suppose that the witch faculties lay dormant in me. The dream interface builds up some kind of feedback and wakes up these dormant faculties. I created her in my mind based on the template in the game.

Either that or she comes from a different world. As I know that the game world is not real, she cannot come from there. So I am a fucking bitch. I mean witch.

What other explanation can there be?

I need to be very careful with what I do and with whom I speak.

I was riding my bicycle back home, wondering what to do next.