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.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqycmQSVwA6
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsP1cddcHwU
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqT2FF1MoV
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIbcQ42xrf
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12NJqQVt97
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9nbC5Bhik
"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!" 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKnyL4nJpI
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2y06bnLEXU
I paused and turned back to him. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLGzCBdG3f
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALdWIitNeM
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWX9b7ZTry2
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKcadu0T3p
What was going on here? 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXBiaN8WKqA
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35t8QhBGua
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlHY0fHnAH
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MHubeow8S
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGNy68bop6
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAjttBHNYR
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqQcqqH4OW
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykxukUkbME
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr03rZALoSr
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYzlfHhi4V
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPB0y5qV8h
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJP74M6gJUq
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsw8zEC6Aw
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecff3NtKrI
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrM0mieV61L
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKQeZRWJrP
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kwwNNqCtd
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI45UjJorUg
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY62GdatLz3
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI85KEv6bAG
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPg2KctnMF
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ULi62U75Y
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0eISAQGkv
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdITuvFCXJ9
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNvPDLBQ4N
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7uzKKfZIr
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhm2GFxa5I
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxCX6q1D2Y
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9w8MTsWp3
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMLThDN35d
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPf6lPCl7lH
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfx5VKXrYaL
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9C8hvqdyGl
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3uzRHYZdw
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhx0OOUlzGj
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpkgXoTh75
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxdm3JqbNz
But today, something changed. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiYLj1gEcn
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEg96l2LDSV
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUhMHhTpnm
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdakJZT5DG
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTygWnRddE
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13VnobYpvE
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGnBJ09LxB
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCX8jyssYdW
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aONeU14ph
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6mB4uoPw3
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAt7TsppSRF
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf0RliBEtNk
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5yoTMj6m8
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyP2nwZ0CBN
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinAgap7mYP
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVLUPCDizP
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYr3FgRZqa
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxDpmvj5mV
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSCpLYg9wV
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhHZ5775wwI
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvvtp4oDoJ
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWI2s5opJWD
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8MhsA6hF8
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrygu9vHrPq
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI118hNZwSk
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPhPj2BIyi
"Missy!"368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrleW4yDOZn
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCvZn1wdFf
"Soup!" she whined back.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpxXWHe1jd
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CeanvrZUc
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQvXx5NPbr
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RJAFdCiZE
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtw3CYmgCj
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rGqfNyHcW
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRFLOhef7AX
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzoWuKOe3F
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJNLKpaIiJ
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfOdirfWT2
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiC9OZ2GNx
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpw3REKBOcp
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHeJlYVUNsI
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUJMEAJcMK
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ988UxTbtnR
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFqS379k38
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzqQ6v2X8o
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzB6t5Bnei
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYqOqo3PUpc
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6XhhFxSat
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QYoYieno5
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3aRwDKlKFh
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4LODG2TBl
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJZMOXLlJ0
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOn0uRaBFV
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjpKtIi7ah
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04DWskkjqc
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. 368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRZuhMdwDX
368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcREuO5D6uA
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
