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.246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5A7MPTqWjZ
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF29rpJytOS
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hrUEGcwGI
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXh02s3npI2
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvsxAauEdch
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExr1yDA6tv
"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!" 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHt4MCHhb4
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0jUNskbXi
I paused and turned back to him. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJXiSdRmS9
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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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5ID9sE3Ep
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSkmf5BYtI
What was going on here? 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJ0MDMt6Wv
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLaelAWIsIU
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7p0FKgGXQ
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXH2Zf8UpYb
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNT9PyhgOo
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4po8hhtUm
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkytl9k6bOC
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKIHbChD6x
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIxGXnL8n2
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN60FTySww6
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMh4Pa4qUkT
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0d4hUJvtB
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrkaszY0Ng
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0dTyWGSD2
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1rjthIWcc
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYl9MZ9cAc
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHuPGObFfX6
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHx4kgcyaHk
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIOAxfNvOW
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjMwMqICl8
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOx8whjQLz
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRrw96jTi7
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinKqtjtv1x
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVEQAwhEtVM
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm91KVGHOIy
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzkp4XnoDL
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn20PeLwLpN
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZfnS6rEfM
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDTx6OU0M3
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JkdE7yHQz
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWL3WvQtOm
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3pYa1cbBt
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRuRmZBuaQ
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHnj6Q1PuI
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dYBWa6yNR
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9C3kwYVlJ
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfIhceQzBf
But today, something changed. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb31vcLehVz
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNDhag9wzN
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVbIUfaFk8
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxPDBANA87
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBIkqYbejr
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8dfhIFsT3
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIyNV4R1j7
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXiVtdycXm
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16QyFITQDG
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagbVokB6Dw
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRJ3j1hLYv
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTh69b8pHWh
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5nFp7OMicz
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7EfjxQ06R
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirekdf5Kg2
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5hAy4K70w
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlaWM2ENh5z
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgFsSXXk0s
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPg9lk6wmVi
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmtQxW6CeU
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vrtRAfIOl
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6AbhRd3K3
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bhU4ZHSiL
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQ6nCaREz2
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdw3iQHFmP
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQCuOJura86
"Missy!"246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXPSBBGKz4e
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rfsWVIjUk
"Soup!" she whined back.246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjwEYKgodS
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJ1DjS0bFq
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRvoy7qqyE
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaw0UY1P7MQ
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSmsckzkoK
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xEoUmx5RE
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RwdyPe2x7
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GOQWDC1II
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vWf96WmoP
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50xnZZV5K2
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJDi0GLiNa
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlyCRHvdCMq
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhGIryVyI5
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qudztDSSG
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9jvGBD81W
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVWIygoOHD
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAnHlLbHA4
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1tL5WU7Ma
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghCy6pKjQk
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvnBVYqMQf
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRHiU3CB17
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQmvUNKPMK
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFTWm5TrwZ
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFKMTQH4Fp
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbB1ChxXGGy
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWihom9Z6cg
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKNtiRspFX
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. 246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIhvLeoOZV
246Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqKw9M7Lxlx
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
