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.328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuppuUy0Rz
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgl3qzCDZz
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiGcV1rTVh
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsbIWs3ttG
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZ0XctTUqB
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglXSZzVqph
"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!" 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwnyQjMjJr
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWQP9YpG2W
I paused and turned back to him. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK72EqylWWj
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBMEptqLpz
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOFTTNryiO
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4ErpG5sH4
What was going on here? 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvbVLHJb7D
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrqyanE0tIX
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqmIb5kqSq
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFX0fn5Pvzz
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRwc1cnxOX
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21Ja63Y3Yt
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG343sP6qgu
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhN6STGDrD7
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgL4wZclFO
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmkLrjai5Y
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt54jIzYRDR
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEy0u20ueCH
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4udqJPsFXZ
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeFN8yjIYZ
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIH7jbD6j5e
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGf5qFFsf6i
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZVq4i3N2b
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAzF0Yw0B8N
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkL4uY7bwr9
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkR3anT6BJf
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmX4kQvJqh
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9wJuPKVos
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1IFnXP2iS7
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACp0j51RsX
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSv3ZHppc0
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBBVDca8zu
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7R4Nkr2ENZ
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hqqDCVPaI
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwqhtgfmhr
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJogGoP4rK
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25gfzcHepZ
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEP7iX8oxMJ
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVey1beKNzw
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFNzGYG9Hw
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAh56DASyIF
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwH4LS6Xt7
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡree0n7WROy
But today, something changed. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAhOSKC7m5
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvC50BCIqOp
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfV1aTXOZMi
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfLHwurrsI
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6c0LytxEiP
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXUw6XCu9X
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5MzFfxLMx
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyl781EJb0B
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIuUuQZpvr
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡguOiZbsjzh
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AJEF7mr56
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OOXR40X2Y
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbrieAq6Gh
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9O3d8624F
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTcRip6rGa
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6MIKxEJFS
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzo9kOuha9
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaeOhgMj0Yc
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8pZ4fCYdR
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqqZJdbmqB
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6iqEHkQDM
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQ8xK1Yf4A
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6AaW4McVp
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiZZdUl6tC
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU50FhMkJUc
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX15csiq5vn
"Missy!"328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBcs6xceOM
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKP2JWxrswU
"Soup!" she whined back.328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0Cn8emNfk
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8AsEJBuIh
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrw9IX2QrUz
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9ssDktU7l
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Ig3U0SSeF
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOQFf6QIXv
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJkFrhEM275
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKU4xHvMIEb
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7CMm0HSn2
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOqN7qdYDB
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwlvlrBDET
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHejODvwoW
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhTsILGMk5
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5B7RWD6ei
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjth11FGWJq
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPujp0kQe1r
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuf3tASjk4
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRjyA9FnRx
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwAOtMKLy9
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvnMqdxBGa
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Or6OrKaej
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrccSJ2Bkq
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71gQdDeGKP
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1BZvlzJfb
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72PBxbCuHJ
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdSX4aN4DG
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDknTjgkcUr
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. 328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvU5gbFzEw
328Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCrMEYjtT9
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
