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.271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeA9mPJNLQh
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbatb2YWjh
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABif3uiClP
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmOO7oZ2rT
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR30a3KBm4x
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHN2qmCp5k9
"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!" 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsia74tGW6
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrIwNy32WI
I paused and turned back to him. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKZ3RAyZBl
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMDJXLXO53
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZ5K7HIbeX
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9FMij4yqJ
What was going on here? 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUr4PEMTYy
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1syVAQPqj
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7SBCWODBu
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAMQl1HjJv
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhSRgxodYl
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArkhAUXmKj
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lNNynfarU
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpt9WUGHsZ
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2VgtR8Pfl
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrpRw29ImN
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxxjCbdGYd
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oTYvVbhJe
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCtrARjmPX
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DyxaWiskU
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQz91HaONS
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhU2L5iSGHp
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5laheSrx9y
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3Nmoldr2R
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6x8bxP1uto
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXJRD4jYhJ
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzijYc6FgCf
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozReMbE8Bx
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydqExuYx3f
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYXHu6OuEn
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWCMWaoGgY
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3GC35OSto
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDe66GCvjT
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mxqf3gqfl
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5YaozcFKp
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQeYlKGMoE
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUo5pPFW79
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkamLeb9Cur
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRyb3h58mB
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjp4vHWrHg
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYz3opbG0F9
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE05sOiCGi9
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq57d3Jxacn
But today, something changed. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMsSAZPn8c
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqLWgjp15g
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEGARXw5po
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaagRprnIdR
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrO7mGU65z
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCITGZCeK6b
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ymOxq9MEb
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHZH7oJT5H
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfqCprwsH3
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLmttnLJIF
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqPZ7EjHil
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQs3rSTbtZ
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdwEahNTGC
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDsESb3KNYu
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTDTfvfxuK
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0X771xf4DW
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9escJTvhsW
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUvG7s60Nu
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopH6IK1M3k
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7Rxi8sQBR
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJyfzR32H2
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKBLkRzZ8T
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVZ5KGfdFI
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIajTjcRBTC
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNs8U0DTfKN
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDx7tQPvvQ
"Missy!"271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRTr3sErIg
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2IZfLJyupx
"Soup!" she whined back.271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyVg8qDKbc
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCo8Q56vFf
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20Va1zwACR
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddRAT5RpSv
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hv6NYWTiI
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7CzEGP6Ju
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstcLMkHyfL
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDOmv945a7
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vyWUPNEMj
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0kcaEtl2Z
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgAsafFoXen
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk20FUhJQfR
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNiI3wSfgZ8
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoNjK3nCeB
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ14uhevyGto
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqJkYqNL66
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpxkWDDX5r
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtTqCgbKLgA
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8DHkD3hzo
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbci4g0u0FR
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlY6FW51oYa
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rM2xF9iOf
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7BPY5CxKo
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCTEfPZKMn
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgVmW2Skd3
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3VDmCpVxP
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEcQimATqH
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. 271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknsivVOAG1
271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByGLXgS5zw
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
