I shook my head. “There’s no need to be competitive,” I said firmly. “It’s not a race.” I caught her arm again and pulled her closer to me. “Just go slowly, Sophie.”
But stubborn as ever, she pulled free, determined to prove herself. “Wait—” My shoulders stiffened, and my heart thudded against my ribs the second her warmth vanished. I followed her every movement and put my hands on her sides, but she managed to stand upright without my help.
She looked up at me, triumphant. “See?!”
The happiness in her voice seemed to pull invisible strings, making my lips lift on their own. Her smile was so warm, I could feel it throughmy coat.
But then, someone bumped into her. She staggered and shrieked—yet I’d already caught her before she hit the ice. My arms locked around her waist and pulled her safe against me.
My heart leapt into a faster rhythm, and I scanned her body, from head to toes, searching for something. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realised she hadn’t hit the cold, hard floor beneath us. “Are you okay?” I asked in a rush.
She laughed—loud and bright—while still half-dangling in my hold. My shoulders dropped, and a long breath escaped me. I was upset, but her joy was infectious. I gently lowered her to the ice and collapsed beside her. We laughed so hard—as if we were laughing at what had just happened.
Our laughter suddenly stopped when snowflakes started to fall right above us. The flakes even gently greeted our faces. I turned to Sophie as she shrieked, joy bursting like sunlight. “Zi! Snow!!” Her happiness was like a beautiful melody to my ears.
I knew Sophie had been waiting for this moment so much. The sparkle in her eyes and the excitement in her voice as she kept talking about snow ignited a strong urge to keep promising her that I would bring her to see snow.And now, that promise was finally fulfilled.
My chest burned with fireworks. My stomach felt alive with a million butterflies. Because it wasme, I was the one who brought her here. I was the one who created the sparkle in those hazel eyes and created that excited voice.
She turned to me, beaming. “My first snow, Zi! I finally see snow!”
I nodded, watching how she was in perfect harmony with the snow. As they fell around her, she looked like a painting, the perfect one, meant to be displayed only in my exhibition.
“Us,” I corrected, my heart thudding so fast for her. I locked my eyes with hers, trying to stop time, so I could see forever the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen sparkle. “Ours.”
I smiled, holding her hand, squeezing. “Our first snow together, Sophie.” My free hand reached out, brushing away the white flakes that had begun to gather across her face and hair.
This wasn’t my first snow. It wasn’t even the first snowfall in London this year. But today was different. Today was worth remembering. Because…
Today, at this moment, it was the first snowfall for me with my Sophie.
The first snow we saw and cherished together.
Her cheeks flushed pink, like carnations in bloom. She looked at me, her eyes burning with excitement. “After this, I want to try skiing!” she exclaimed.
I gently brushed her hair back, smiling at her. “One by one, you nearly fell back then, and that’s just ice skating.”
She giggled. “And I want to make a snowman too. I wanna build Olaf!”
I fell silent, watching her, letting my eyes convey everything I couldn’t say. I nodded. “Anything you want, Sophie,” I murmured. “We have all the time in the world.”
I knew I would give everything within me to make her countless dreams come true, for her dreams were mine too.
“We have all the time in the world,” she repeated after me.
For as long as we had time, I would bring those dreams to life, to our memories—one by one.
« -- * -- »
I stood outside the skating rink an hour later, watching Zeraiah and Sophie laughing together. A few minutes earlier, Zeraiah had snatched her awayagain. When I was about tohave a moment with Sophie, he would barge in and shrink it down.
But on the other hand, I was grateful for their bond and for the way she let him be completely himself. I knew my little brother often chose to confide in her more than anyone else—not me, not Zaeem, not even Mum. Zeraiah always said that Sophie wasn’t someone who complained a lot, not someone who judged or compared, and he liked that about her.
Tsabinu appeared beside me, his skates off, and he stood watching his sister with my brother. I turned to look at Sophie and Zeraiah again, but suddenly, right in front of me, a long-haired woman wearing a denim jacket was skating, and a man laughed as he held onto her from the side.
I went still. I looked at them for a long moment, and I sighed. Something stirred in my mind, something that made me wake up at night, drenched in sweat, gasping.
Especially when I sawhimagain a while ago.
