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.307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2gRkjonNQ
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6M90Uitg9
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOe2mp9uEUt
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xJnrbGaJy
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gd7d6sAMu
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmD7Q38q21Z
"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!" 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKC10eedfI
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2itUJip1pK
I paused and turned back to him. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBN9fjpZ2l
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtB1vHgz1v
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwC8WsoebQL
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMRwA8wlMc
What was going on here? 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ30YNhgOCC
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgIXNAYpyAW
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSY2jPpLsq
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡci3mdZ9Yjn
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEhZ7Z8dED
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDMYSXhCXN
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2poAyAM1w9
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6L93PrkTQ
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4w3PRr3fuv
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4Ca7vqIZr
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYln3nqnAc
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdovKbizQK
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsWmIADmoK
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Nr0vWBDjL
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEp4iZ4HLyX
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAKmnV3FO0
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAhXDDb56f
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3GGmdqxLy
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xeWkkW1m2
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qbQgtgmYL
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QVqQM78Kw
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7mfvQ4Dki2
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡay3q0ZkaY4
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6eBqjxRlBX
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXkcKc69U0
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8dzusZiwk3
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOCA4bsE0i
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgshQX9UyXY
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7y5XXptUA
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaI2wBrrvSG
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrac0RUCiX
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ONEZtHnoz
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NN4ijMmHX
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53DDtT11QM
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXK9KeQMcX
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WODGMNezF
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Qh9mqbkWO
But today, something changed. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhiLVmmkH83
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIv6kPwxymp
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvxSGcwqEG
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqciUc5A3rd
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzrw3ENwfs
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJoUGc3RdUI
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljoRHMa1sE
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvB5SH80CF
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroOIvk9yCt
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1CWh9wMXN
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMVCE3lTKq
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIagk94DHhe
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQgU00RnrA
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASzhpBEFcK
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSMrSkvrUO
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAd8LLDBAa
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwv6cFN2LPh
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkqHNxHLeQ
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfPrR5QyW9
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzPRJnmoA5
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPLRCdLNmW
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKID3lf1BJ
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMhMDevFWC
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVaTQs8BgJC
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTJfbBVsZ4
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uvYRKF7sQ
"Missy!"307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiOUlGlorA
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZYSBQJR9R
"Soup!" she whined back.307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAntp3RCsb8
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2WMp1W9zLx
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VWY86Xtje
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZankVRCcZ6
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6UUoTQO8O
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDfVPCero5
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2yCOaisPd
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLuEVISEcF
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDuRF81dKW
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh21rnG8aS9
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe58ZXeNwIx
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYnDYYRDgx
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb46YvcR1LU
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfrdGSCQ5H
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxL6LAqMPSs
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLZy4rCBM5
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwNixlWK2T
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPJVBwid5O
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjqa315YZ0
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Kevu5mRrq
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6EhHn2HSyO
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQZ9CADAa2
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNeQ5v9ITS
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVUxeMDXdW
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBNIxm7po0
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfqHkCD5fe
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lTruNP01s
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. 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhW6Pwtapcw
307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyFFUw7OIi
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
