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.406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhi4gtokUZF
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiE2RUKf0zt
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEyiaCrFr6
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiU7Hp8hi4d
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpguCqUfJR
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWquGbVpyNr
"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!" 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBIlpTMJMy4
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAmAPeSixd
I paused and turned back to him. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3cfa6gaOf
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7GivHGGEZ
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyf1rThjlrT
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBaM8iRrCF
What was going on here? 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH2fBlfYzuZ
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSmhG7dA6B
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBbmQ7dBSC
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvx4NU2sQA
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyC6Gz2iY2D
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVcN41A13i
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbn0wEwgCm
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1uhBAl4IL
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOogjekS1RP
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJnDvjo16a
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfn0CU9fBF
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkiOocLyFx
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74GCYIk921
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67rrhqofbJ
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHToW3MTTx
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjv15gwcF4
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KYUAFslM6
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJF67BTACM
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95hQgak6Pl
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJm1C3iCTBK
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRncxZ9CJ8
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGXM7KZAfGU
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdCzRwmkMk
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTLD5tGQAm
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6epLiZMLb
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMWOJ3PvYG
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAmlRlXzQZ
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAErjBiyi6
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NFvfEhiJC
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DyzHQ4ePk
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPlMgyywcw
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkgLtvQHzr
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7clDzOv8p
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUR1O44rf2Y
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVpunpkkcx
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TnfbTCl86
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yrt5H9z2r
But today, something changed. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDKQ6hUgS0
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoO1g2TIStH
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ83amvI4Z3F
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNTfyX3Y5N
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGI2rXExlO
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvZwrE9U2d
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnx3ul9Nqbm
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9HkFeEUPyi
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLNsBxu2HJ
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBJ6jIfhNA
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHQUxBc4kv
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgXWVPwXs9
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhyhMGpmeqC
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuA5QzxJOvJ
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHs3Qn0BdB
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwQSp7h9It
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJG4xBIZSf
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTV3PZ8gmA
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD04XAz5BfG
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNXsrcyMpz
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLpQeCJG9ns
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCoBVm0hADJ
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0HtuTIDLc
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTqdtqkTNa
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqme7OvioRv
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmopNOwSSkd
"Missy!"406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgzyuryiVdK
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1nSCQINuA
"Soup!" she whined back.406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yngcQhPNh
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgpvpgDvlU
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKr5G8X0mdG
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjz0ylLes4G
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbsXYvDrO0
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIoYto5QAJ9
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGh0a6UJ7Dl
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbiCC7iVdyz
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ54gldQkqq
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYpT9vjiLj
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KPpObe3Zf
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4dDRsqfJ1
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8A3ndaJIxg
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOAoTCvc3A
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zs7CXKxUn
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA75NoaHjud
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XbWEOqInn
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgQ0wypgnL
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZkMW159nu
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiRLyyFPTWe
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡas5Eq9jO7Y
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99f6vXq2k1
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYekyonXRi
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8CxEBe9WKn
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusUOflsMJ7
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbGjlQclOg
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7yKzfznmU
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. 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3XO7Il72V
406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOyBokdIH6
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
