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.382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUgu8qCMq3S
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡybEFMNLhjh
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugc29D6Yvf
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzrnBB5wwW
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQii6azTKOg
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEU1iLZBe2e
"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!" 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJN7yHjgrVq
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKl5s8hBDR
I paused and turned back to him. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAIglg9Rut
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Czj5mB63v
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93CFlUKyUq
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuHktGAsEv3
What was going on here? 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcX1EswIIi5
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuI4y3ftEo
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnDQybO8fU
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsU85uvBvy
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjXaZ0koun
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbr070lBJK
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtIZR94ATV
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMK4vhEHuLQ
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHwnh4GnV4
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0ZHKxy302
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhi58IodCve
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADtbeh559H
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8JEbmv0Rk
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQeZbJbJfSG
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mnvrN9RKT
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PRTk7cmqS
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmijVLizf9
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ruqvb7G7T
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GTSdlsZ15
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMix5vt4ET7
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljCxa0ca9B
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHJQm5J0lb
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8ruCRrVNf
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0rb1aZeeJ
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAnkirOThX
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJOp0CUtLz
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAhUVHtunQ
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVHU2r6dcx
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecVfMYB30q
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ299mXjDIcd
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2oY9LI9cEx
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3MKOrv5T3H
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNO7uihMVfY
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHuRLDevhY
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJYLeU18TA
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpXyAm17Ni
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1srBuUE5xB
But today, something changed. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxgNDzFubp
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27MVCy9Phg
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEOGcCycaQ
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6Id2ctPw3
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yCFu6IVhT
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6iEwoCRNb
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0p3hcm4gH
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTkkJFle7U
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNndNONvfX
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42Pa8mfhde
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBZKe1xIVT
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSOSrkBHw7
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9OMbqt7AH
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIm100tlYD0
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmQWXERXTt
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmm21Ac9NpZ
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjRbT6YSok
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQwQceoFRY
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnvttVZQzz
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNCcHAg8GT
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCg6l4vdAfW
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSGyydJ1lY
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxD8oItJhpU
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvccxp7ObCA
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVdy0PkF2a
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIfCU5UnLj
"Missy!"382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kasBZ7RH6
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUluJi0mUZ
"Soup!" she whined back.382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡse6zTK8fdJ
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC00UKJd7Oa
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHf0rqSTOU
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWlDQss2fw
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPFlCueEdn
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9SljJ4efds
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZZbu2tkBB
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4Cjh3j9sK
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8c6zpS1OaQ
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxurmLAFE9
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqab1wxbFK
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSiHE8dbxvc
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3Y6NSaf1F
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLx8EeJtfj
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡreCaXmQyZZ
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPRWIPCw5L
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69YrPM9ggb
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLefYwPd9oL
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXeyj4qnGg
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRj0AeYO2p
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhWTiidTUp
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcME8L40AjO
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeJ1KYuQ8Y
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgIrWFXnSg
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2ILFb33v9
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡStYMRFAjnQ
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBxrBddwnt
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. 382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxboKe3MLJS
382Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo5MRNi5aIS
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
