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.244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo77ePYeT2o
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He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwEO9Ao87xO
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCOclRJQpW
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3fPNKVtme
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnM78l1q5m
"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!" 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5p2AWySBe6
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcLNqDGbxv
I paused and turned back to him. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVYJxqbMUC
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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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6AH0zJnhT
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkliRVIxCEJ
What was going on here? 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzRpRhGyrM
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqmjDkasrZ
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtp1eWsIbj
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGbCaoVJsV
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZsVCPCPLG
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVd8lD6tuZ
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOAdNMxilh
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbFX6ssbnS
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtSSeacz12
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RxmILZP3g
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxIgGq9Kqr
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rRKxHVcqd
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpXEBfEio3
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9z0k82Q1R
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3IuHTsAJq
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Jv9BysgwL
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9y7PgvFQDR
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdccqAsyXLz
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtsFg4Mpwtn
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9go38hoIC
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
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244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPUu4tmh9L
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbum1WonoqX
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMfFHki5Pg
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBLMZY8spQf
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfjWSff3XN
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7btT2BPOkz
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiTg2ffKXp
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxeZZyLXfD
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2lRKYTSEn
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSq5ajMxKsk
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8yKxGZnHA
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SibpjchrG
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6o4cOFOWt
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4gCJkUwag9
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbJmnQ3MyV
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡct0kF13R3q
But today, something changed. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHShQWdMlc
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GXYyFv0dq
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7gNmPEikf
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwuEyrWDPgX
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcl3RLmHlGE
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFDTs8IvTu
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIllbZPmKe
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXebzHgThv
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡix23JsIPZ6
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1x9evttD2
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRvOVyTKfN
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5cydk0UUe
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDU2pnqlAy
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMCa6BiZXg
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrolyTd5IQ1
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYqnOqzDiI
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Z630wxC69
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5TJKeMCqV
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv0jtv8GzNY
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWrzsKcDlX
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhJGG2S3pB
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENjj0AoB4l
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvhF61gONZ
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwf8HUJPq3
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQm7jnqROr
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClZrAJveaR
"Missy!"244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucsqs7JRa6
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"Soup!" she whined back.244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBppeWxOojX
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The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uV1R0cNVe
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgEuSmCi7C
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxyrRELOn7
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIB89AtdSt
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZPgtqxPZA
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGzq8m6RrF
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeaPLSNoFJ
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDctoWRM5z
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CnVF6ZQK5
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFgmeEzayk
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtuxCpMn7MP
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwg8wFiCpj
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWO5rW5gPh
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX04bvMQzZi
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqfSK3DSFf
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XCqnNGKK0
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7bIrNb5Vl
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnKrcv1N3u
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRKGCKwwHjw
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMj59UO5XK
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58AlKMRe6k
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIyqgPsqzF
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yuiFSJTvD
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmJCURUP7p
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0quRpz7dz
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. 244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSpGt4tBzv
244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAe7ZBUDoAn
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
