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.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnoI3R9LTZF
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IXBJpwwlc
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tnxP2OgVO
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7HPfDB8Mfn
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGuK7j69eD
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrtejXqf8G
"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!" 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsFPyp4oCL
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLC65vCFBV3
I paused and turned back to him. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3zFl4m4zq
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHP32gzbIu
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdCCNarf0j
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZu94LyXJM
What was going on here? 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClnVDWSEDG
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUvsbNjYWs
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYQQ9WzPqaN
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAQNx3PPE4
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUMGuYVusz
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwf0V5JvfJQ
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWLU3MjQNG
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡATju52lfXm
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIc5amrOG1i
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDD76r949G
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ56SOdSlyim
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ejXDxNwes
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mnFUekJc0
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEbfXUt1QE
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3741No7kU
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdh37wvfFr
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DudHXu9sN
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVT9PfBA4gp
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMslFTHsYwt
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljegD2Lqxf
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTsgccWJxs
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mQFnLbh2m
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLLW54wxGE
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeQ5vSwTWF
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwP1UTMo3IG
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kprgq48xD
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYK7SLPm7v
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnQB6YS6Kk
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19Uhj6K6NM
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoFtqd71su
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pwS3x7xJn
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95ZvCJa8cU
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCH852fNYa
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xZzJImeK8
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4IwrfYqDO
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBB77wuCqdh
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbIJsdoa5CU
But today, something changed. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbiShOZTkWQ
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtadvvH0ntS
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAoCvxyiz7g
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLmmUslcco
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzAT5ENcDA
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvRmgSN9Em
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSremH9NCPY
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4mBOvs3o8
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTcsHLoDnz
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOLsAdeHFNd
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUrYu4n5iK
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIKuy7MiPe
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjBHDbDKi5
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLqyEZQEvS
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKyYRPqQL6
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYlvE8yhfy
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbDvecVvyur
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWPhgLNtjQ
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZgPBubSa7
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6Cowf3wiC
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3AMcP0TjU
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvOfsRbfqc
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwuMeJP8kop
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oCtzo8z6u
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnoU3fW3Whz
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZu376yX50K
"Missy!"304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhkb39PSFd
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYXoEAqPSA
"Soup!" she whined back.304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQr7PTm8wt
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmZJqrFu7v
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiU3bdKpU0
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJhcEGAoIQ
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZfICdfSVi
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWGVRJ7JEN
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRPKUdLhjC
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsifXpApoPU
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV95lNQKSxV
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaB4PYEtPY
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZNksXD3Bq
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKee838vmuw
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eehu6Vvt8
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsOK6N4APGM
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Ev3ToFwIL
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpUWq87IZt
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyg6yn0Zo3
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPbNG9OkN5
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntjYqQo1f7
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyRWp1IECT
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nnQp1oxxx
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVA7MgaR2P
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjBH3kJjMX
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgkHbjAI9r
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsitnrqsXh6
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyeuTG9773R
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PkH1kRI7S
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. 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyaNagMeuva
304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjnieHbMT6g
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
