The sight of Bartie already at the tracks when I walked along them in the bright sunlight filled me with hope that things had returned to normal.353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPcNLtLdzY
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He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeT1egm2Zd9
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I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhlpn43BAs
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGAJSS6oQS
"She's worried sick about you, Soup!" Bartie grumbled at me "running off on her like that. Shame on you for having her in tears!" 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cvHSgxlYK
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhg7nq7sLv
I paused and turned back to him. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7Lx51bNiE
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That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZayFizOnM
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1Zly5cBVo
What was going on here? 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKLcPclCFPB
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ARdkVv97t
Missy's face poked from the newsagency and lit up at the sight of me before she rushed out of it and for the tracks. Her pale pink dress billowed around her when she ran, kicking up around her legs to glimpse the red under-fabric. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkcokD7wFm
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2r7fmtJYAu
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBCL1BFfsj
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIK15piVuL
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHUlkQZeJj
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVkliBlaHT
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBgDh66HsJ
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJS6g34W5h
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPq9Zmt7rgg
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJPIkU3NA4
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLQtuQEBlg
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzfQKn77E9
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyA5ZAUGUsC
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3J4BnaYm82
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGoAM35kYpk
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPm6mEz1DHf
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYKV6WQlSW
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomgxG6bnwS
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqcM3v76Gu
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDMv0x620Gu
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgJBjiSEj1
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RE99DU0f3
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKLDHQ0Fda
She tried giving me distance at first from Bartie's shop but realised that I had too much time to dart back to safety on her sprint down toward me. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBvG6pUW7w
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzR2PUts8T2
After failing that tactic a few times and giving up on it, she tried ambushing me from the side of the track as soon as I walked out into the open. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6CRKACcQm
I was too quick for her, even with her advantage. She still refused to step onto the tracks that I darted along to escape her hunt for the truth. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddkshise6d
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBWcgfP3fj
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPDhSOiCSC
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bEYCzA6cy
Missy started to give up whenever I spotted her across the river and refused to close the distance between us. She didn't call out to me anymore and just watched hopelessly while I backed away to continue my scavenge for food elsewhere. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9iLKOVk176
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16OmhqRdYl
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01JnujhwlB
Two weeks of the same occurrence refused to deter Missy from hoping for some miracle that I would approach her. Every day she would wait at the tracks for me in silence, and every day I would turn from them when I saw her face pull up into a hopeful smile. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZV3e8SUGk
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgn7ks5RUwj
But today, something changed. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94VVzUiWA7
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfjRqS4LKmQ
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkATCU01vq5
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73fLqtJo4E
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFKLLvqtGP
I didn't dare leave my side knowing that she had nowhere to escape. Her trembling body was already over the river, trying to hurry towards me as quickly as she could over the rolling gravel sprayed over the boards she stretched her body over. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdgbtsa7pT
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSWraX8j0H
I paced nervously in my own fear of being caught over the water with her. She was still so far away from land, even with her frantic pace. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0lgbTc9Xh
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4Gj1F6BhR
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Listening to her now wouldn't change her mind and get her to return to the safety of the roadside. She wasn't going to let me ignore her any longer. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmohrDqUbP
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7P9hK6olEF
Determination fuelled her fight. I was going to give her whatever she wanted if it meant she wasn't going to be so reckless anymore. If she wanted to destroy her life by hunting down impossibilities, then I couldn't stop her. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmp7yb5wd3c
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujfJQhZFKr
I couldn't chase her away with ignorance or distance. Missy was going to find a way around it, even if it tried to kill her. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFq1WBwn6aY
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdOlDgnnj2l
My whole body trembled at the thoughts blaring through my mind. They smashed through my nerves like the train dragging Missy's body along the tracks in every possibility I saw. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNQp7BVi95
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjnQE7bkHzs
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ258HeA48un
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5dL9RKqfR
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqjxaDPLrW
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Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1jeXmsiYEJ
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44fB19Gr4a
The horn of the train screamed out to make Missy turn her head and frantically race towards me. I knew that the gravel had to be spearing the bottoms of her thin flats, but she didn't have time to stick to the safety of the boards anymore. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUU4rfVVmMh
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTl1LgWvPE
"Missy!"353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9H9AziYKQ8
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"Soup!" she whined back.353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZSxpoRhDF
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The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7gjSUPqqC
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdgXH8slqJ
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemMq3YAOTe
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSOTmgpyUB
I leapt for the grass that knocked the air from my lungs and felt Missy's body hit the grass beside me as the train barrelled by. Its brakes screeched down my ears and froze my blood that shivered down my spine. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡua5yg6PYLu
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAc11pIvS8i
Missy gasped and trembled beside me before clinging to my arms in fear while sobbing. I cradled Missy in the grass while trying to shake my own grateful tears she was safe. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzQcQnuk6R
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxkpHMxiuf
She was so delicate huddled into me. Her head rested on my chest that warmed with her rigid breaths. The rest of her skin was frozen from the fear still coursing through her. Her arms tucked against me to try and warm up on my body. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnW6kX746A
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtskmwaTfHx
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdsmiIE5o2
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehPDsBW0uF
Missy leant into it and didn't try to pull from me. Her trembling breath was steadying, and her sobs had subsided to little sniffles she tried to control. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtdg7GIJ6Rd
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkkX5VqOHy
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUbOJIO9C9
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdln9LF5sc0
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡri3YZr4BQm
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0DxRRNRu3
I didn’t want to see that or know I was the cause of it. I moved my head away, looking at the clear sky and the drifting clouds above us finally threatening rain. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2Yfk0PvOm
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXT4FnKY9Mh
Glancing down, I saw that Missy's eyes softened in the same way they did when she greeted me each day. They fluttered closed just as her shaking lips gently brushed on my cheek, leaving a tear to glide effortlessly down it. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFzMpcJAJJ
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2qwuIZ3aR
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBUCmsyUZf
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwlGWQOAX5
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbiV8ACSCm
She wouldn't be able to understand my answer anyway. I was just a creature trying to escape the drag of life, just like her. Everything else was drowned in the water tower and floating in the river, like it could remain to be. 353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBWb2wLIGH
353Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3tzlCjK0z
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
