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“No, I want it!” Sarfaraz insists. He takes it from me and opens it, smiling when the pellets hit the umbrella panel instead of his head. He smirks and looks back to me. “Maybe you’re not so unlucky, after all.”
I smirk and unwrap my own umbrella. I stuff the cover back into my backpack, then press the button that’s supposed to open the umbrella. “Yeah, maybe not—”
I cut myself off as the runner goes up way too far. There’s none of the usual resistance. Instead, the stretcher snaps, and the jagged tip of the metal goes straight through the outer canopy, shredding the material. I gape at the broken umbrella, ignoring the rain splattering against my bare arms. “What the hell?” I groan. I shake the umbrella in my hands. The broken pieces just flop around, the metal bits inside scraping against each other. I know it’s useless, but better for me to take my anger out on this stupid umbrella than something else. “This was like fifteen bucks!”
Sarfaraz’s eye twitches, as does the corner of his mouth. I glare at him. “If you laugh, I will beat you with this umbrella.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say it’s much of an umbrella anymore,” he says evenly, though a small chuckle underlines his tone. He presses his mouth into a firm line, but I can see it wobble.
I’m about to hurl more insults at him when the corners of his lips gently turn up. “Here.” Sarfaraz closes my mess of an umbrella as best as he can, and then opens my backpack so he can shove it inside. Once he zips the bag closed, he circles back to my side, but instead of continuing forward, he wraps his arm around my back, his fingers grazing my arm. He huddles closer to me, holding his umbrella over both our heads the best he can.
I stare up at him, but the kind smile stays on his face as we continue down the path from the bridge. His hand is gentle against my arm, and somehow the left side of my body fits well against the right side of his.
I face forward, crossing my arms over my chest and enjoying the pitter-patter of rain against the umbrella.
13
Maya’s Law #13:
Things are never what they seem.
The bridge is the biggest highlight of Sigriswil, so once we finish there, we’re back on the train to head to Iseltwald. On the way, we both receive emails from the airport saying that the worst of the storm has officially passed and our flights are officially booked for tomorrow morning.
On the ride up, I fish out my iPad from my bag. I’d initially planned on watching something on the way up, but I was too tired. Now I’m too wired to sleep on the way back, so I load up the second episode of Crash Landing on You. As I stick one earbud in, I look to my right and notice Sarfaraz peeking at the screen. He quickly tears his attention away when I catch him staring. Instead of being upset he was staring at my screen, I smirk and offer him an earbud.
He stares at me for a second, but wordlessly takes it. His face is mostly stoic as we watch the episode, but every now and then from the corner of my eye, I see his face crack at a joke.
When we get to Iseltwald, we leisurely walk around for a while. I force Sarfaraz to take photos of me posing normal, silly, and completely ridiculous. He pretends to be indifferent the whole time, but I catch glimpses of amusement in his eyes every now and then. It’s always gone within the next blink, though.
I step into a souvenir shop. Switzerland may not have been a planned stop, but I want something that’ll remind me of the experience. Plus, I can get Imtiaz a gift that says, Hey, sorry I’m late for our wedding, but I got this cool thing from Switzerland for you! We can find a place for it in our new apartment!
Sarfaraz doesn’t want to get any souvenirs, so he leaves me alone in the shop while he goes off to buy us some coffee. He clicks his tongue when I tell him my order (a coffee with lots of whipped cream and a caramel drizzle) and mutters something about how I’m tainting my drink with all that extra stuff before setting off.
I wander along the aisles, taking my time. I pick up a couple of magnets, a keychain, and a deck of cards with the gorgeous mountains printed on the back. I’m about to head to the counter to pay when I walk past a display of snow globes. I grin at the sight of them, but one captures my immediate attention.
It’s a house, painted to look like it’s made of wood, with a gray slanted roof. At the top of the roof is the Swiss flag. Green covers the floor of the globe. The bottom section has a man and a woman surrounded by trees and faraway mountains. Next to the man is a white flower I assume to be edelweiss. I gently pick it up and give it a light shake. Instantly, tiny flecks of white swirl around in the globe, making the world inside look just as majestic as it does in real life.
By the time I’m done paying for everything, Sarfaraz is back from the coffee shop. I step outside and accept my coffee from him.
“So,” he starts while we continue down the street, “what did you end up getting?”
“A couple of things,” I respond. I whirl around so I’m standing in front of him.
He stumbles to a stop. “Jeez, what?”
Unable to keep the grin off my face, I reach into the bag and pull out the snow globe. “Look!”
“It’s...a snow globe,” he says slowly.
“Yeah, I know it’s a snow globe,” I retort. I hold it out. “It’s for you.”
He stares at me, and I can’t quite decipher the clouded look in his eyes. “You got me a snow globe?”
I falter, doubt creeping up on me. “Yeah? I thought you might like it.”
Sarfaraz stares at me for a moment longer but then recovers quickly. “I don’t collect sentimental junk.”
This time, disappointment flares through my body. “But I already got it for you! It was final sale!” I pout. “I was trying to do something nice to repay you.”
