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.274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXy4fucDu1J
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnm98GamcH
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbhrqYz1ru
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr43Qfvg2or
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8X09LMo6qo
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fupG7o5wV
"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!" 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsLsEUbVKNT
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghb7yl1N60
I paused and turned back to him. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yYa15NLO4
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNJWUUVs22
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Gov3ctJLE
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6F1bHQQmM
What was going on here? 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgbITfkW3x
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcF0PioCCvG
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUC1ZvzFYK
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAZ4m25YEa
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeGq7V9H7i
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuRaJeDOVa
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ1X4VpIGPY
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlaTEcRhR6M
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsC1Zo22Z0t
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKOsegurzr
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5Q7RILtip
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvR5bqgsmR
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHUfJ3V89S
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0P7PLKMh3
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NZ83d5YJT
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMfRas5Pk3
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDer9AWuVt
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXwrk3dCvg
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsVJ4FgwjW
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0Pi6B5BRF
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1h8PmC7Cs1
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pRSpwx3hp
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfCi2FrDkl
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw52l2HDQM2
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdma27NX7t
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILBrIKfc3u
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuU1H3X9zD1
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoXXgQIsLo
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwQ5r8Q1XK
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe73DYawxMu
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4wYFjhYoh5
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhnuR0QIfS
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6zKooe7RQ
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYDNjhQG6N
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0kO5A72dq
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSZXaZP0nq
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYkHNYqHP1
But today, something changed. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVp8QvTQL6
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGz8kDZ51M5
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmmPjcRuKJ
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOzvjXu6bJ
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkK9yz2tJs
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GtuxUV98Y
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxgf99ISLT
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgsLATV0589
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyaGH3jmF3A
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAhMc3ZQ32
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdjmWdrjPE
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qEFRdSVDM
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ204A3YF1LD
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzCV9hK9R3
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUu3BQmXap
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2EFmOHRfM
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYO4zngtdIk
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7fOZKiaArg
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmB1geklzmq
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9UHW0HTIN
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCqqDNFiJc
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAas5jTZa7f
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7IzF2AaXL
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbP1rZ3SVZ
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeG6gpkWzaJ
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTLcJVzWet
"Missy!"274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuwbLvRSTf
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf18uy7vdRr
"Soup!" she whined back.274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWWL46tqyd
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfXP3CYSU1
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiRCJoJceiN
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlp3dJ6zJAv
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMw2OQwBoxj
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡybDZoCkOsC
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFIHwhABzc
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgIyE2L0pDr
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YL7kE5fun
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMIpiSqZKd
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIV4LmHqpM
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmYdfFtjno
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMAda2huLH
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9Dm2geGlF
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4Ldds8Xum
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsQTrqdBu2
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZT10tSM4m
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBUWHm1dIK
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86e2gOwxFQ
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatk8kpXtC0
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rOszgG2Qi
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ838Wny1R4t
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGfzrtrN6Z
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNzqDoDjDe
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡquiPCkjd2e
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWZT2wXz6w
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElNqtmXREG
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. 274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIjM0onKgb
274Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvQqdm6OG8
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
