But when her brother spotted the new ghost, he started to scream. “Begone, jinn!” he yelled, flailing his arms. “I renounce thee!”
The new ghost appeared to glide toward her little brother, and instinct kicked in. With a battle cry, Sameera tackled the interloper, and they both went down hard, snow and pine needles flying as they grappled.
“Oof, get off me!” the interloper said. “What do you think you’re doing, Sameera? I expected a warmer welcome after coming all this way!”
Sameera peered down at the apparition in shock. A very annoyed Nadiya stared back. She clambered off her sister and helped her up, a happy grin blooming on her face. Nadiya had surprised her, had surprised her whole family. This was the best Christmas gift ever. Next to them, Esa dropped to his knees, laughing.
“I thought you were a jinn!” he gasped, just as Sameera asked, “What are you doing here?”
Nadiya stared at her sister. “I came to rescue you, obviously. Mom told me where you were staying. I would have been here sooner, but it took forever to convince someone to drive me out to Wolf Run, and it cost a fortune, too. I’ll be sending you the receipt, Counselor. Now, areyou going to tell me what’sreallygoing on, or do I have to sit on you like I used to do when we were kids?”
Sameera once more tackled her sister, and they landed on the soft snow, laughing and crying. She knew somehow that everything was going to be okay, now that the three Malik siblings were reunited at last.
They ended up on three Adirondack chairs by the frozen firepit, and Sameera told Nadiya everything. Esa already knew most of it, and he smirked as their sister’s expression grew more serious with every word.
“Let me get this straight: This Andy person thinks that because he built a bubble tea empire, he can also build a ski resort, and he’s not above manipulating his best friend to do it,” Nadiya said, summarizing. “Meanwhile, Tom doesn’t want to tell his parents that your relationship is fake because he has no intention of moving back to Alaska. And Mom and Dad are convinced you’re lying about everything, which is why you’re in Alaska in the first place.”
Sameera nodded at the succinct summary. Her sister sat back, thinking.
“I’m still mad at you for not telling me what was really going on,” Nadiya said.
“I called and texted, and you left me on read,” Sameera threw back.
“Which you totally deserved,” Nadiya countered. “Though maybe I should have called you back before I jumped on a plane. I guess we all made a lot of assumptions and unfair judgments.” The words were more of an admission than Sameera had ever expected from her stubborn sister.
“I believed Sameera from the start,” Esa said smugly. “I just wanted a free vacation to Alaska, and to hang out with Tom Cooke. He’s been giving me tips on how to grow my social media following, and they’re working. I got nearly five hundred subscribers in just three days.”
Nadiya ignored their little brother, focusing on Sameera. “I have one question for you, then. Why are you really here, Sameera?”
“You mean besides Mom’s emotional blackmail?” Sameera asked, stalling for time.
“Obvious,” Esa piped up. “She’s here for us.”
Both sisters stared at their little brother. “But Mom came here for me,” Sameera said slowly.
“And you’re here for us,” Esa said, as if he were talking to a very small child. “Get it?”
It did make a strange sort of sense, Sameera thought. Her parents had planned an expensive, last-minute trip to Alaska because they were worried about Sameera. And she had gone along with this mad plan so she could be with them, too.
This was what happened when family didn’t talk to each other, Sameera thought. They each behaved in unpredictable, unreasonable ways, because they didn’t know how else to say they loved and needed each other in their lives. Which she did. She could accept that now. Her family meant everything to her, and she never wanted to be distanced from them again. Even if that meant flying to Alaska.
Nadiya sighed deeply. “He’s right. Not to mention that you are a relentless people pleaser, and it has landed you in more trouble than it’s worth. Even now, you’re worried we will reject you.”
Sameera didn’t respond. She didn’t have to—they all knew it was true. Nadiya took her sister’s mittened hands in her own. “No matter what you do, no matter who you are or whom you love, I will never abandon you,” she said.
Tears sprang to Sameera’s eyes at these words—she hadn’t realized how much she needed to hear them, or how long she had assumed that her family’s love for her was conditional. It might have felt that way, but the truth was more complicated, she was starting to realize.
“My love for you does not depend on what you do or who you are,” Nadiya continued. “You’re my sister, and I’m here for you—always. Even if you do have questionable taste in men.”
Sameera’s tears were falling freely now, but she laughed at Nadiya’s final shot. Esa, clearly uncomfortable with seeing his sister cry, pattedher on the shoulder. “What she said,” he grumbled. “Also, it’s freezing out here. We should go back inside, or ...” He trailed off, eyes gleaming in the dark.
Sameera looked up, wiping her eyes. “Or?”
Her brother pointed to the large shed, where Tom said a pile of toboggans and sleds were stored. “Or we choose option two.”
Freezing-cold wind whipped her face as Sameera careened down the low hill. She whooped and raised her arms, inadvertently letting go of the safety strap on her sled and toppling over into a heap of powdery snow.
She took a picture of herself, collapsed backward in the snow, and sent it to Bee, not expecting a response. To her surprise, her friend was up, and Bee’s reply made her laugh:I know what you look like. Give the people what they want! #ShirtlessTom
