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.252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP03J9vc5jr
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6DM6N5Kp7
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5Z54wbjKT
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIJPM3045U
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuxoeJyRKy
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTX96qEWkR
"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!" 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOoIC1nESk
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVnd8yEOyX
I paused and turned back to him. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemLan9fqPY
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFVxPQunZP
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXAh8Mzwkd
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPriM3HjtC1
What was going on here? 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DDDR12Pkl
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKlkhUzmQr
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmM1gm8LOT
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEuqpDITZTs
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOxmMVjKf0
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4EmjSXKWO
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RqK2M4hqH
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcflFUjeXsV
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNy1kXxtGz
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2P6T7RldW
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3MFGIV2MSF
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4odh9UvCg
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsOuvKVWBsK
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BpGZdkUt4
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxiQvqgaxC7
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Q8eN42nSG
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfGKoTEe0U
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZ49mF3r42
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDlJij8l4O
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWd6JoBGHFB
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCwj5U4UWK
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyUDJt6PkQ
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8AEayVHpx
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6uGaYW75pR
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqUZiS1pD1
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZyHHTxPJr
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUEgtDKmYZ
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQwk2J0dWi
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0f3izX2Mdb
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyAgs6xeBq
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfEdbeN0dm
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtiHVrqrsJ
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrqQ8xK3a2l
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5sgoksxk7
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcprVLqhywr
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmmkSjh9CA
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡymjwMM1nl1
But today, something changed. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9PBKcdTDn
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmsfPl6eRa
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVqMw8G9gq
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRmeMfoDwY
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGEpU49Ebe
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlUpvwDvXq
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKh5LJRvAb
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU3hYi3QmS6
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLU6DRrRcb
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlETjBfGVNz
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxq6bJH5Aq
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHA8CWzef7
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxPq2EBRkQ
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzhSq6VwF0
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8X46q5iKr8
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleeYwMp9Ww
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJElPR4pC8D
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrUyk6gYwK
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiIrtMAb87
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6TJVSCYwO
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ReLWzHtW5
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GXWK6uqoI
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixunGxE6ET
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vQiRBl21Z
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5QJ9cop5K
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQAe2Pzvlm
"Missy!"252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTBXyHEyzv
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9fFZsFJFV
"Soup!" she whined back.252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Tsb62QUhj
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIf3qH8S0gE
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrv2o72OndS
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gGCAQl3QE
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhHnvISnlux
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgYMOsHtCl
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Bn670Ylx2
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Oh8Ir3Q9x
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYw5077EVGd
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOI5aGQMmH
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhVtB4CtiH
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuR13nsUalr
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWNG6dT6uH
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurU5KCpAnk
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrj7KwwYOn
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMjSnddBX7
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqKz78te45u
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvKjTbXlag
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNmrCPUTgj
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIblE42VUxh
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWaByepZld
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5z0iEVanRv
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡor5yeKhQuA
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXnOrQhEy8
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkaZ2PKx5M
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvI7QndDaKK
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqAKjWkm6g
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. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXESjKveNe
252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeH6zBIBVv
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
