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.289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3Zw4VSlrX
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCMz9OcWER
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP59svcFhcn
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDCOXymu9Q
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZMPJOkxm5
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJ1wPc5qWD
"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!" 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAL4ZtJC5S
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvEVCNV6kdR
I paused and turned back to him. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hVTLR08fL
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0M2OLoxQP
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwfelpZACK
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLh9ZgPbSd3
What was going on here? 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHV1vofda1c
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9X5uBKJOI
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVo4Sv60bM
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0LFSI1ZZA
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsFOHauQe2
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5k8qrP50m
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwuHn5NRyan
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QU2mTMGR2
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRw4KhGQ4u3
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3Lv9rkVVl
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQw6KBtLbtw
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNSdw9keVf
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNq7YlpRix
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVxJvC54HR
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYxG2amr04
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgb4MHpeMGz
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8NsNF23YK
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPuvYYI91k
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvstq94oTRN
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGezaOJgP7
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYKE1XGoY3
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJQCNUkpvM
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8ulmAAsJM
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhz9S0C2m7
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGev9XKY8g
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMJFRf9g7I
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoG5WeMX8EN
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJmFvB9fkE
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofmCMvYEbG
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHnfOjZBYs
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVWwrvJkL3
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1S5nRJSfsI
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxaM5dHxj1f
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvq8jKTYOSR
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Dm9HngNoA
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSbsdokLVW
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSpvjv0OV2
But today, something changed. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhr9DO3Zgn
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cstsJ2ido
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Lo5TfcxpS
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaRZMYUmWA
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0rrEItfLW
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQDTKls5bu
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NgSA1BSru
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbx7IbkkRhv
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLr962j8DV6
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80mJKqMwYf
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAxFnMNT5F
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLX6hlaPQYg
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsl56jZuzz9
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqtVz5mYTA
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTBSgyYZFs
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6S1jTjj23
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlaVN3WIOP
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVnvJv8683
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQhiUgVQ2d
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1h61uoHho
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucdqyeAR6Y
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvtqpJtUlK
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdJkXHV0Zc
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGzFfMRhBZ
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDkGyucZHG
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fGkTDbQ16
"Missy!"289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiRMGYTuXbA
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHPWN4MGHN
"Soup!" she whined back.289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6p7z1aTsU
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5D8hpuFHP
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfp6M0gLXp
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGMd7tJIRu
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RdHV8Jyij
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDe3qz2lUW
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH1x8eOqait
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pbQd1oUH1
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SXVJLhkB5
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELMrTXw8qM
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbY9yNWukk
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPmLw7Ndn7
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwjgGXken2
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjnUOiseNvk
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdJymIJOIp
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYK1htlIdi4
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZtFNcQ0Kj
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlsj6hHZcv
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjmzI1IjY1
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVMAaWD1Bj
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGtsUv5w0h
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs45uUTmUHX
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwfwNcie5U
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwRDDdab8T
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwdpbBKHzO
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrKjyVViAS
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbnqz59trq
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. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1QDrxpWc7
289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8Pe6sEtCR
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
