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.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wmNCbpOCZ
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIKiy00l6Z
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy117eFbd3W
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡraq7WwTkYw
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1TyQuUdAN
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4uw3uwQfM
"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!" 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ8YgBWkhVR
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6WQnZaSLT
I paused and turned back to him. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcv3Qi626T
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtdcW1bpxw
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisrn1DFnv6
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dgTFlEGBb
What was going on here? 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXFHyMkqFc4
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0Hzx3L4zl
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYzEsGYlHV
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVAvAsVB61
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIeGxuiKmiu
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1j9tiZQlRm
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg095sQuNCK
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrX8EcNfEi
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSI5l8bkGaw
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYjhDThFHp
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71XFNcD1Qn
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dHh4PLF3s
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqh4v3thOZ
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡueCY5drztt
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPMyBdpkMx
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEbxiAbl17
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16JDHKSFGT
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8IbAo7hXi
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzWLvYdPd6
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPXTcP679P
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡayRz0hEoUi
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNviSuizkL4
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVp8yuxbEs
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDK5kbcj0AE
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAU7IVmJNi
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIJ9nXgPtt
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2I7yX1eCZ
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOU872xqYi9
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosVtQxJr5z
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiS9Nt4MaD
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vlU6PKjpf
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKYcgIXmEE
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqm2YasJVy
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAq8Jqi911S
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwt2EVf0Hvt
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb08q25V7BF
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eeXIJhPvJ
But today, something changed. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFe31HifhDm
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4N7wxG6Ft
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYFvsA2pJ5
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8CJasUYqMW
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQEMO0YoEKv
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2aQ0Enxfn
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5O3e1Wiul
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwauqsavy9
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVfpq4u4Pi
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfXeGAihMg
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmCpj3B2by9
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUH7UZ2XZsf
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTu4fUlJoA
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9LA4MK25E
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ592KBBbGq2
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnV2WmI4qrT
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYZXp0EoAS
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYN8zkc1qgQ
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GyySfpMuK
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygpT0ujVlC
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5MfyBCvxM
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdokCLpsJw
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSMIQo6SEQ
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AoL5OGmht
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJ3xwsF8dv
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWx2IDfKwP
"Missy!"324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gBVXKLSd6
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2Psyya8gh
"Soup!" she whined back.324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPdbuJuk09
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc32JwGuI1l
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjtuuqsWln
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRdAjE2LIX
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9qif9D1y9
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7MdM6NH8fI
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZf0txmzTwg
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSplR6x63n
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcH892PmTnP
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpQVS3FxKN
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuGcYBXVWT
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvU52ecsK67
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8rVrWIFKl
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbMvyhdVsJ
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCgsG8lEpb
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHsj3Bgl5N
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2jChZaVOQ
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNkPqXAaie
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGyw4qJBBU
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tX7FGOYMj
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBQv8wv6MK
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91D9PnpyOu
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK15gIqfh5P
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEZxJfeiRG
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWC32e2VRZR
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KY7AMrPvm
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUN0T177kXO
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. 324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcwPgzdVqkF
324Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArYnBYPW2H
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
