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.273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9Oo2QdVrU
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwZlHmbZsE
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMx6jotMah
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNL5VSAkEA
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHtDv2UxtI
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZzCfqWsKV
"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!" 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8hcf1hnzi
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6gbhm6iza
I paused and turned back to him. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPK1xe5yLb
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1kf3eIvgA
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgU6LAiKGk
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08AARMynug
What was going on here? 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡre8Nh7aEMU
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pyp1mfoWm
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxlJCbqO6g
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJTbAr1MhT
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8761c5GVf
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkSKc6GAey
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3uZkVCU8v
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5prUOr0P57
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOzL1lmLPZ
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uJ2eYrKkX
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL34SjcoSQF
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRpUGqRv3b
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRXsi1LKU3z
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6tPRTHv9S
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQ5t41LPsL
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdewvCQ4d9L
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBOOgNNhvp
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvpaA0c7jg
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSs38xEafjg
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOidm96yXWr
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcQRuGG9PJ
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2JU1GxyJp
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpIVr7EAksI
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQEdj6RFimE
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mfYSbXbjq
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4ZQqcWaXo
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHPtisbNda
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfpBfYtVWV
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNw05CvnuW
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ655Rg2cc2u
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkeaXe1MK8y
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMgfk3JXQ8
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZi6zIj3hyX
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJvDkskfB3
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xvZRxyugF
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXPTZMiuOt8
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDZbiiC61W
But today, something changed. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7KqURzWV8o
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3l2blkTJP
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkCzk1Y7de
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzCMEv4xAS
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatedP1fOB9
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QErcrbhvm
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0HWWQWaj0
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRO4wblWG86
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZ17EOZN4z
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBVCGO9s57
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcc641o1XG
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwM6vfJYF80
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsf8EkVkFK
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexEAtMx0EI
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvLtiYq58Z
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qiMkbM4ap
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AuX8odsDO
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPyhl2hjn7
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVt4JQllz5
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlUAnosLZI
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnQWwgx3y6
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TKYxGKV50
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIGuH4QrMQ
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSD1gFGoGHE
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH2dbInN97t
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrxlZwQk0w
"Missy!"273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNCz3wCGzh
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjM7ACDz38V
"Soup!" she whined back.273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmbwGJghO7
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfcaaWYfP3
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uYYWdQXby
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTuBN8RIwSk
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fCiyPdJpO
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccK2AKxXXU
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvg5EqZhy4
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUqeGGRTsm
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKRUrVoXXi
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6m3fNNvApk
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoopvtk7Hp
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xNdNvjs4Q
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKe6oIs3hP2
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQwCU8y5pL
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfqrQs8TFS
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvic0XDoRg
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHlw8OKFDd
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9S6CcxJ4R
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPN1QlK0y01
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNdXG2awwI
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCiFkch9yc
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUUcyuSkVD
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJ1U88NyZB
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflgLJihmsf
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9WCKKyo8H
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImFiYIhVAj
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFJQfgNe5y
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. 273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqD5LB1rXrB
273Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FB7fan4QB
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
