SEGUIN, Texas — It's a bond that can't be broken, no matter the distance.
Private First Class Jose Leal hasn't seen his younger sister Yasmine in more than a year. Having just wrapped up his deployment in Kuwait, he's now home for the holidays and said surprising Yasmine was a must.
On Wednesday, Yasmine was working on a project at Briesemeister Middle School when her brother strolled down the hallway.
Yasmine was stunned. She started crying and ran over to her brother. Jose wiped away her tears and pulled in her for a long-overdue hug.
"This is my world right here," Jose said. "Growing up, I would help out a lot with taking care of her. Any time I feel like I need to talk to someone, but I'm too afraid to talk to friends or parents, I would just go straight to her."
The surprise was a success; Yasmine had no idea.
"It's very emotional for me," she said. "I'm really happy though."
Her friends were in on it, though, and they clapped, cheered and held up signs that welcomed her big brother.
Having Jose home is a blessing for Yasmine. Each night, she said a prayer for her brother.
"I prayed for you, I made sure you were going to be safe and that God was taking care of you," Yasmine told him.
The plan after the surprise was simple: quality time with a proud sister who's happy to have her hero home.
"We're going to go home and watch Disney+," Jose said. "That's one of our favorite things to do is watch Disney shows together."
Jose will spend Christmas and New Year's Eve with his family. He'll go back to where he's stationed in Colorado after the holidays.
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