Page 152 of Chasing Gold, Catching Her

She was… stable. Completely stable and so strong!

Tora held her like it was nothing.

“Okay,” Tora said calmly, still holding her, “Biellmann from here?”

“Let’s try,” Alisa breathed.

She shifted carefully, reaching for her leg while still in Tora’s grip, twisting her body upward into position. Tora adjusted instantly.

It worked. It actually worked!

They tried a few more holds, a few more lifts, small transitions between positions, testing balance, timing and most importantly — trust.

Tora looked at her. “So…”

Alisa smiled, breathless. “So… we go out there together like a pair of skaters?”

Tora squeezed her hand.

“Let’s show them art.”

They hugged each other briefly and then unclasped their hands, separating just enough to become two skaters again instead of one idea.

While the next ten skaters performed, they stayed near the boards, half-watching the ice, half-speaking with the DJ. Tora leaned in first, pointing toward the music queue, and after a short exchange and a casual shrug from the DJ, he nodded approving.

It was agreed.

They were ready.

By the time their turn came, the arena had already shifted into that final-exhibition energy with no tension like competition, but just general anticipation. When Tora was announced as the Olympic champion, she stepped out first from one side of the rink.

And then Alisa, announced as the silver medalist, opened the opposite gate.

The hall erupted immediately.

The announcer’s voice faded into the roar, and for a second the arena almost felt like it stopped breathing.

Then the music began.

Legendary Lovers.

They rode towards each other and, like falcons, circled around one another face-to-face, studying and observing each other with soft, knowing smiles, and then, on the words “come closer,” they finally did, drawing in at the same time as if the distance between them had never truly existed, reaching out, pulling each other closer, embracing each other around the waist and spinning together as one shared axis, their foreheads gently touching as the movement tightened into something intimate, and the arena erupted with shrieks and applause so loud it felt like the ice itself was vibrating beneath them.

They merged into what looked like an old dance meant for only one couple, circling each other with delicate precision around a shared center, like the tiny ballerinas inside a music box turning endlessly to the same invisible melody, so graceful and tender that it almost didn’t feel real anymore, only inevitable, one movement flowing into the next as if it had always been rehearsed somewhere beyond memory, one by one, step by step, like two lives finally syncing into the same rhythm.

And in the front row, Tora’s parents were already crying openly, unable to hide it anymore, watching their daughter and Alisa move in perfect harmony on the ice, their expressions completely soft with happiness, as if they were witnessing a fragile moment of love finally finding its shape in the world.

And then they went into a chain of steps, gently taking each other by the waist as they moved in perfect connection, and they began a joint three-turn sequence, a one-foot turn where they rotated forward, then into another three-turn, and then back again in reverse, flowing seamlessly as if the edge itself was carrying them, and after that they broke apart into fast twizzles across the ice, their skirts and costume layers spinning around them in flashes of color under the bright spotlights.

Then they separated again, only for Tora to extend her hand back toward Alisa and whisper, “death spiral.”

On the chorus, they entered it smoothly, with Alisa lowering into position while Tora guided their shared rotation with steady control, their movement tightening into a dramatic arc across the ice, and then, without breaking flow, Tora lifted Alisa out of it, pulling her back up into her arms with ease. Now fully embracing her with true love.

Alisa smiled at her, soft and breathless, and gently pushed away just enough to create space again before rolling out into motion and launching into a split jump across the ice.

Tora caught up immediately, closing the distance from behind and wrapping her arms around Alisa’s waist, turning her gently back toward herself, and Alisa responded with a small smile and a nod.

Tora lifted her overhead and spun with her above the ice, and Alisa extended her body into a Biellmann position while still supported in Tora’s arms, holding the shape with control even as they rotated together as one unit.