Page 153 of Chasing Gold, Catching Her

The arena roared and erupted into continuous applause, the sound rising and breaking like a wave that refused to settle, completely overwhelmed by what they were witnessing.

They clung to each other again in a step sequence and simply glided across the ice together, moving in quiet synchronization, looking at each other with loving eyes that made the audience visibly shudder with emotion all over the arena, as if the entire space had been pulled into the same feeling at once, and the performance itself became something far beyond technique, something incredibly sincere and almost overwhelming in its honesty.

Then, without breaking flow, they decided to go for a harder element—a more powerful throw.

Alisa was used to it, of course, but she hadn’t done it in a while, and for a brief moment she nervously pursed her lips, feeling that small flicker of hesitation in her chest.

But Tora didn’t hesitate at all.

Her expression stayed calm, completely focused in a way that immediately grounded Alisa again, and that silence in her confidence was enough to replace fear with trust.

Tora took her gently by the waist at first, and then tightened her grip with controlled strength, anchoring her fully before launching her into the air in one clean motion.

And Alisa spun.

One. Two. Three. Four.

Four full rotations.

Perfect axis. Clean speed. Controlled flight.

She landed successfully on her right foot, absorbing the impact cleanly, then immediately lifted her left leg into the air while spreading her arms wide, holding the position with confidence.

The arena erupted instantly, roaring in applause and cheers.

Suddenly, the music cut into a brief pause—a moment of silence—and they stopped on opposite sides of the rink looking at each other, both of them standing there with their breaths caught in their chests, goosebumps spreading over their skin under the cold arena air, their mouths slightly parted as they could only see each other across that entire distance of ice between them, and in that silence Alisa suddenly remembered everything at once: their first meeting, every argument, every glance, every step that had somehow led them here, and it all came crashing through her mind like a flood of memories she couldn’t stop. In that moment it felt like all of it had always been pointing here, as if it was meant to be, as if it was always supposed to happen exactly like this, as if it was fate itself pulling them together, and then, without any more hesitation, they skated towards each other at the same time.

Alisa literally jumped straight into Tora’s arms, and Tora caught her instantly, and they spun together across the ice in one continuous motion, completely wrapped into each other as if they had never been separate at all.

And then, coming out of the rotation, they deliberately rolled forward on their knees toward each other, the distance between them now almost nonexistent, and in that tight space they reached up and grabbed each other’s faces, pulling in at the same time as their lips met in a kiss.

The arena immediately exploded with applause, the entire crowd rising from their seats in a single wave of noise and movement as if the ice itself had shattered into sound.

Reporters and journalists shouted over the chaos, cameras flashing everywhere, “This is an enchanting performance by two champions of the 2026 Olympics! Did you capture this legendary moment? Women’s figure skating has never seen anything like this at the Olympic Games—two women, two champions, making history in front of the entire world!”

Epilogue

One year later

The crickets were already singing at full volume beyond the open doors of Tora’s parents’ country cottage, while Alisa danced to Michael Jackson with Tora’s mother, Maja.

Together, they cooked and set the table while Tora and her father grilled barbecue out on the summer porch by the lake. And now they were preparing the same family recipe for bruschetta with Norwegian salmon, which, as it turned out, had actually been made by Tora’s father all along.

“Oh, so that was the whole secret! The way the fish itself was salted and here I was thinking it was all about the sauce on the bread!” Alisa giggled, carefully placing the finished salmon on top, almost the final touch before serving.

“Of course. And now you know the secret too — you’re our second daughter now! I always dreamed of having two daughters, you know? But you see how strangely fate rewards our wishes. She gave my daughter a daughter-in-law like you, and now I really do have two daughters.”

Maja lightly nudged Alisa with her hip, and Alisa suddenly felt like crying from those words. She felt so warm and happy here, as if she had finally found a family of her own… She pressed her lips together, trying to contain her emotions, but tears still slipped down her cheeks.

Maja brushed one away gently with her thumb. “Don’t cry, my dear… it’s for the best.”

She pulled Alisa into a hug, and Alisa exhaled shakily. Looking through the huge windows, she noticed Tora watching them with a soft smile, as if she was close to crying too. Tora nodded at her before turning back to cooking grilling meat with her father.

“Thank you… I feel like I’m truly home here.”

“You are home, my lovely daughter.”

At that point, Alisa was ready to cry like a whale, but the touch of Maja’s hand against her back seemed to take away every piece of sadness left in her soul. And so they returned to cooking — all that remained was to prepare the vegetable salad and the meat with one of Mother Tora’s signature sauces.