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.292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6pmcd4FZP
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmuqGR8DyG2
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyap2gNaUVi
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4K1dTTmv7
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0rOXo9TvK
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0wjXDt7Et
"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!" 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZIYgAaerg
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdcafmb4tNA
I paused and turned back to him. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwlquRTasY
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGfqE6sOnD
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpojX7AKnqb
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJpgGX2mPO
What was going on here? 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxjjml8PQxJ
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ14C7dSsztm
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDBq1tFMsY
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxfmv53ZC7
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsx3rY5wwaG
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlifpMJxiNB
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39mRfKobIe
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYdmdFAJKk
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIfexgO6VA
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNl6jznwlJ
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIX82qTXDdl
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWV9G6AoF2
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicnE76ezdY
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHFE6LBJE0
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMkMyuCYwR
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAagTwRcG73
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJz5CdqR3EA
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wFO34je7X
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFVDDZvy7S
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESMDN7NMh8
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqXqwbUEyD
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwiQn5sZM6
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cANLvNxPd
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnHA47oJP9
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zvurewSLS
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5LvUjPtdt
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqX6cXcYUB
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVyd35bPMS
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpbLodlqeL
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffbhNLFt6g
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuilLOUncnV
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tPIsmZLxB
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXn87MYhW5G
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TCbtQOgWZ
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYm5hIpTSb
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsF8DvTwUyq
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvYnyU46Gn
But today, something changed. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ePg7mW9KU
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtqk9CSFYf
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEavdbdByw
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2m8yNRhe4
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PYfxcsiru
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqbUgh8RRl
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCOOCxCAis
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNvCYSDi8w
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrX69LXBYCw
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJpFcKElaZ
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ4ZYeMyVTE
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cXHtrAmeu
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxPj82haRb
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVG6ZHzneN
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeWjlUW4Cy
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmH36xvPt73
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtzFLrgdpZ
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpOuB6h8pb
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGf2AiCAbRA
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6frJkq7tbN
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmltTaDI3v
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9iXagwAey
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKpoqPex7b
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5kMyEnenz8
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAGqcbzlWg
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbmnjGEfAE
"Missy!"292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkIpGTjTo1
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFSN44HCLn
"Soup!" she whined back.292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GFyKBxbvu
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmclKrwIbc
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSx4NYtrtms
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGRGJFRUxF
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyimnbCTNSz
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjuWHXsbaAm
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKMumZHBLb
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqm94sqtZu0
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qTdt8bZAk
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhU2pIhvQk
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvq0C90OnSu
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuaDuNIVXLv
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlB8uiCiHDi
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWuQ563olU
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYqpxdgOZ5
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1fFS8HCPE
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JYqIEEQDi
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyygMYQzIhy
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgbG1LXVDMg
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrw7WsncEp6
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPb1SMIwLh
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHIGkrzmAD
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4vVuPfs83
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDO0TjKCCAf
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNC1EpsiLBZ
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlxfBFf8tS
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZdpJaZAz4
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. 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGedSc3vicN
292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYQnsUgbDz
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
