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.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Tuc7090VQ
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He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmh59R9r0W
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I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXsUIRvksG
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ96r69uX8sQ
"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!" 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RP3IDUc7g
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I paused and turned back to him. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XwJGGxc9g
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That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKiKbvZdK6
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5filWkutmo
What was going on here? 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgOIV6iFBa
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXfabj0Tfb
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBEoGujAB4
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2L06WPlLR
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEeIes0R8iR
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRrgNrHPze
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFW8PTjucVO
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpUBRw0AMI
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGcNQTu0lV
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrdNBuURc8
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcUFo7lnsK
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrP0f1fVqR
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYc1Y3KpO6C
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2WJC4jYQT
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn09J8E09dx
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswYo4XBebE
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGAmteyVgX
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8uWe3uvu6g
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJNXYlXTOD
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTdCbGcGgV
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKkCHvGFZG
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6mtHcxEMr
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxhUQbKDPV
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqcMLf10pd6
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ425gwVJFOP
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOXN7aNZJ5
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03M9kaZH6q
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFWxBbJKWEw
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVXCB2zxkF
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPSZAgrDhX
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Zrw7YemTP
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvDWRbbHUIw
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoT3zfFvhR
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsHIcpnHUUB
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
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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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBJwrZctCv
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrVznEblLAy
But today, something changed. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXZtg64VJ2
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vEDArhiBC
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95hYv0b0UJ
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCL2vp1DIg
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgOhR0hXFxn
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8k014lYg3Q
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rkf6qc29N
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjDWdqpfcG
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7WRlUZHaM
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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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Bb6aiQ7gv
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj18uD6QiRN
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjzIFplBR5
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn47PQ5DRGJ
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8EUyZDAKl
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VPlCN9Ku9
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjmhmfQIPp3
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0buIRmhg2
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRY0J48HNI
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I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DZyXvH7Jy
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Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJHNF1dR6l
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSszsq3kjb
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRbkYNen3S
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubng7pvGTo
"Missy!"253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqsAOGbNxv
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"Soup!" she whined back.253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRHTvrHWBQ
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The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2QGDrEAzB
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Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJhWhovaj6
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdl8HeNKI3O
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzW0fUPXlo
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwliZt12LAK
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhdmqz4aJu
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfARYQ1cKf
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCazitMtoOx
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbBqBM7Ymz
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8z3f8UQaYV
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJCLO0avFl
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJchLB9v9Z
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCyRSfQBR5K
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3IO3ONrdZ
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhEEUC0yBo
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0T7r5dWvn
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPbp04Vmwi
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpAaTMq9C1
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXl9wqSGkmf
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87wmtb2v0W
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"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb7PqxMMY0w
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ch5X8ZFae
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RDMJVVNGu
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. 253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfQas7YyNy
253Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgMk5JlRDS
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
