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.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRN6FpIwPjZ
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He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMyiqVcKH3
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I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWedG1o4RB
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"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!" 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEFeHxwfvX
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I paused and turned back to him. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGbZXb2tH4
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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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMe1fwSSrp
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What was going on here? 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBib7fqBXNA
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfF5xzs5s2z
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGUvnXicUO
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What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWdgwU4bCr
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOsqpRj5OZ
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiCD1Kvg2a
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1n9bWtbYl
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtj7F4ZRmEi
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUCQrLkWkg
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWE5WZwXYRj
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeu8ezxr3RO
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWCjBnCDJe
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRObXZE7jd
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVXEvy3Ghq
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIx9wXg256
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv3jTFCqvJ4
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYJSbghE2Y
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qeUR56lUw
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She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
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163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2e7aVCKsv
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2U5ztlh9D
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSC9fCOVF2v
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmKg4sUJJc
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVALvLQXlp
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2k8FHdgbo
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡco30AB4Wdp
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6a3ocq0m1
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsfNTNSRh0
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfespTU95X
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCc0T1De908
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpjhYE1lqS
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPszAqRGvvN
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcT7CMg2xl
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBaFwdqJ3iw
But today, something changed. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PBc6AvK2X
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95kRQGGYF3
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBSmAct37X
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbs5Rdsfg00
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSReXz1VyK
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4BLJVDNTx
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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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfGoC4aExk
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXELxulAmzB
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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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡct9x7nIcQ7
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51LJ0UMjVy
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnoBDxut37
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHi17c1lSD
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdEher4TmD
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dGxT6Uuyz
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97XOUJRzM8
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNTP3dQiT1
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdObbQBmcrx
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77xpLjqeFm
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnAwaGpGP85
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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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FRvuaYQJS
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVBYkKJUKn
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1Yfn7BLgt
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"Missy!"163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGjM4wxHl99
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"Soup!" she whined back.163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGbUWJl9XO
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The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVti06ZFEKO
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Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBB4ZUuf1r
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8mYwR6UUN
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdf4cpDqs9r
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGL5ybO43NO
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXrG9JXzkV
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhg9z43Jft
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9bPJNOqI0
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrtoNJsD7V
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OZ24N5whG
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6taXNovwJ
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaToWHV1tF6
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxXgExhIgf
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8h2daWbWn
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrlTupUYOU
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmb7vtquKY
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAcylVrHjk
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJXMN3KWZWB
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4NvRqDn8S
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNshhG0Gxu7
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCWsmuja9b
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnma71yPpkB
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbDoeEW5d0
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLeWA84PJK
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. 163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2WA7OSjDY
163Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhirbHMGkj
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
