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.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3EZpPvs6P
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUYeL3oj0J
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsNl1F2yCk
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DGkGXcsle
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3pl1Je9Zn
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvN9jPgTdU
"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!" 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsn065poUG0
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRmlPqwwiF
I paused and turned back to him. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlndWBVezZK
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfr3ash0ww
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMhx5SiRe4
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cnJXiqAqm
What was going on here? 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6D37AkVM6G
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpnKua5tDu
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0YdoQxXds
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzRFlgED8E
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SGpzfidBz
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogAnHijv6o
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsWD88HLjQ
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZH8xxz189
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiMvgjdDC3
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBOY28GWWG
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3FR7l5Xsi
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88OwmXgoRr
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVB14MA4K5
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgCu8xh00f
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrS5vI7Niii
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZLJDWjUgt
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66SJz8Y3uP
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWNoG7wM2v
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs7fKZ1cNMG
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuuYDeiDgza
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
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323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNoMIW8oFCU
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSalnRNJ8Mo
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMczl5cali
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQgdgPE3ux
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkU1OTfjDOS
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytGi9r6i3H
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdHMboxXhT
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUMUJVSxtb
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WiP4glDiA
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5HNJhROxD
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAkaRfRgSv
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnDGWfM9tK
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDv57izlHUE
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqN933sN8L7
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRLKRIGoq2
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWFaTlxErpi
But today, something changed. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi38IpDaFv7
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2JFv2UfuY
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVW5gf1mx5
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgHKLHt5pl
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkoVh0rHiGd
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9J52ey1A2k
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5UQmWiyXpk
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxRFmY0OnZ
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGvZpN0S1v
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOu3RNv6sIc
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Gm7by74Bw
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HdoVxIuc4
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqXR08g1ur
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuizjHMf900
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2PQFdgget
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXF7vR2oWkk
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NdXEOZkIk
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfoSmgaJYDF
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNOJlwCESt
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3A8IUBJp6
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJO581IsBN
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eNHpkgQW3
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcozG9X0qhY
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwzcDs54I2
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFjUPSMS2f
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7JLCNJekQ
"Missy!"323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWMm4RatbF
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hPUMB1qc2
"Soup!" she whined back.323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFsQUdL71U
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpzxVJkZYg
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVInYMo3h1
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMQuBiVk3r
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMp8SGWhpG
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYC1E9EKvci
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyG6tQ6NEG
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqRhv499jPw
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVqPM0rRcO
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzaxqUOJHK
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4u9Hspo8pl
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbyQ9x1cZ9
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfueKHpbE7
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7fPNVPLYwF
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ktc66VpUS
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVi7BbDEc7W
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9jFxLpcDV
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzmi94qJuJ
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWiy2icLsZ
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡct5nsbe7H1
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKuJ3rHvrZg
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUbZfJf397
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZXdz1I9xB
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvu2ZvZArEp
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHT8CMKhZV
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcD10ZdpUhd
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GDZsxDJrT
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. 323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1z39bSQxpG
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5BcCzWrS2
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
