The day was drawing to a close, and the last rays of the sun shone through the windows of the 'Love&Pet' shop, the store for magical cuddly toys founded by the Winx in Gardenia. It had been a busy day, and many customers had come to adopt a cuddly toy.
Flora tended to her last cuddly toy patients, Musa and Aisha tidied up the fitness equipment and musical instruments, and Stella polished the mirrors of the beauty salon so that everything would be ready for the cuddly toys again tomorrow. Tecna, along with Bloom, set up a live support chatbot for their website when Roxy entered the shop, accompanied by her four-legged friend, the dog Artu. She smiled: "Hey, girls."
"Ah, hello Roxy!" greeted Bloom, making her way over to her.
"Hey, do you feel like going to the Fruitty Music Bar? My dad said he'd buy us some drinks!"
"That's very kind of Klaus. Is there a special occasion?" asked Musa, who was putting away a few headphones. "There doesn't need to be a reason to treat beauties like me and my friends to some drinks!" grinned Stella.
Aisha rolled her eyes, and Musa replied, slightly annoyed, "It's not always about you, Stella."
Stella tossed her blonde hair back as if to emphasize her previous statement. Then she turned to Musa, "It was just a joke."
"I think it would be nice to see the others again," Flora interrupted the silence. She knelt down to pet Artu and continued, "Especially now that the wizards are gone."
"Right! Maybe this time we can relax without interruption from an attack!" giggled Bloom, and the others joined in—except for Aisha. While the others finished their work, she looked thoughtfully out the window. Behind the houses on the horizon, she could see the sparkling sunlight dancing on the waves of the sea. Nabu would have loved this sight...
Suddenly, Aisha held her breath as she saw a figure outside on the street - No... That was impossible! Aisha ran outside - but where she had seen Nabu, there was... Nothing. Had she just imagined it?
"Aisha, are you okay?" asked her friend Musa. She must have followed her.
Aisha took a moment, the lump in her throat making it hard to breathe. "...I thought I saw... It's not important," she said softly.
A little later (and after Stella had chosen the right outfit - which in this case was a bright blue designer dress with orange-yellow playful details), they left their shop. The air on their faces was warm and fresh. It smelled wonderfully of flowers because Flora had placed some vases in front of the shop.
Aisha still pondered. Did she really just imagine that? Did she already have hallucinations?
The Winx attracted curious looks from passersby. No wonder, after all, they had saved Gardenia and renewed the belief in fairies on Earth!
Stella made a move to stop and give autographs, but Tecna and Musa jokingly nudged her past the crowd. Aisha was fine with that because, for now, she wanted to ignore the people. She was afraid that if she saw just one more happy couple, she might burst into tears.
After a few minutes, the beach came into view. The Fruitty Music Bar fit perfectly into the orange-pink light of the setting sun with its Hawaiian touch. Already now, the fairies noticed that it was lively again today. The music reached outside, and many people were dancing on the plaza.
As the Winx entered the bar, they were greeted with the next surprise - albeit a rather unpleasant one. Mitzy, Bloom's hated childhood rival, was also there.
Bloom hoped that Mitzy wouldn't see her - but it was too late. Mitzy adjusted her triangular glasses, and a diabolical grin spread across her face. She approached, and Stella let out an annoyed snort. Mitzy had become more unpopular not only with Bloom. Since she had set her sights on Brandon, Mitzy had tried several times to break up him and Stella.
"Hello, Bloom. And Stella is here too," said Mitzy in a slightly nasal, haughty tone. "Hello, Mitzy..." said Bloom, while Stella immediately turned away.
Mitzy was about to say something when - "Brandon?!" - Stella's boyfriend, along with the other specialists, entered the bar. Stella threw herself into her boyfriend's arms, while Bloom looked around for Sky. Helia handed Flora a rose, while Timmy showed Tecna a new video game on his smartphone. Musa spotted Riven at a bar and ran to him.
Only Aisha stayed behind alone.
"What are you doing here?" Bloom exclaimed joyfully as she hugged Sky as if she never wanted to let go. "I thought you were back at the Red Fountain!"
"We have the day off today, and we thought we'd surprise you," grinned Sky.
While Mitzy tried to embarrass Stella by spilling a red fruit cocktail on her dress, Aisha slipped outside.
She crouched down in the sand. The evening sun felt good on her dark skin, and the salty wind tousled her dark curly mane. Her blue eyes looked sadly at the sea, thinking of Nabu.
She remembered the beautiful times, the memories, when he was still alive.
"Aisha..."
It seemed like she could even hear his voice...
"Aisha!"
That could only be the wind...
"Aishaaa!"
Now she turned around, sure that someone had called her.
Indeed, someone was standing there, looking at her. He waved to her.
"Nabu?!" Aisha stood up, incredulous. "How..? I-I thought you were...!" She ran closer. But in the moment she closed her eyes briefly to wipe away the tears, he was gone again.
Aisha fell to her knees, unbelievably looking at the spot where Nabu had stood.
"Aisha!" she heard Bloom's voice. The other Winx were with her. "Is everything okay? We heard you scream!"
"I..." Aisha began, but her voice failed her.
The fairies immediately understood that their friend was not feeling well. Musa hugged her, and Stella went back to the specialists to explain the situation and send them away.
The Winx accompanied Aisha home, and Flora made her the best herbal tea she had. Stella wrapped her friend in the softest cashmere blanket, and Aisha finally found the courage to explain what had happened at the beach.
"...I think I saw Nabu."
The other Winx exchanged concerned looks.
"But sweetheart, Nabu is..."
"Dead. I know," Aisha said, taking a deep sip of Flora's tea.
"I'm just saying what I saw. He called out to me."
Aisha felt the others' gazes. She knew exactly what they were thinking.
"I know it sounds crazy. But I saw him."
"...the most logical explanation would be that you're overworked and experiencing loss-related magical delusions," Tecna speculated.
Aisha fell silent. Delusions?
"...it felt so real," Aisha said incredulously.
Stella put a hand on her shoulder: "You're just overworked. I'm sure you'll feel better with a trip to Magix!"
"That's a great idea, Stella," said Bloom.
Stella pushed her sun-yellow hair back and winked at her with her amber-brown eyes, "I only have good ideas!"
Musa crossed her arms, and Tecna said soberly, "Well, I don't think your last 'Bikini Winter Collection' was a good idea."
Stella grimaced, "What can I do if it gets so cold on Earth? In Solaria, it would have been the latest craze, for sure!"
"Definitely!" chuckled the others.
"What do you think, Aisha?" Flora interrupted the laughter and handed her a tissue.
"Yeah... I... I think a change of scenery is exactly what I need right now."
Stella clapped her manicured hands together, "Great! I can't wait to take over the Magix Mall!"