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.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBWw4DdT3e
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFm9VYdHWUK
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOR7fiXcvLP
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1De6Ef2GN
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKwaxYFuHo
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hLVyEjRgW
"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!" 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUhCYKwlHO
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX8oOD7DFMD
I paused and turned back to him. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBuyPokGEw
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSImsvlldt
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeYoxHOh0W
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1NNd4zOXt
What was going on here? 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRzOqASyEK
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgzmhM1dUVO
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjo0pHEUKtj
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzoOKD2CZyc
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqoj1x3d4i
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMR7RsZVvV
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lKYn4EGHs
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcp17ufVFO8
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EwqqQt9XX
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzk8O5hRK3
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdshQJBlmfq
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeg344fPr12
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXF0NqJYlFL
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKL9WFT9Npb
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSyecks4fx
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPetxtwx2PV
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6WsYPsNfMy
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LrGpgK3Xc
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYT0qoKnxzs
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUCFWSzqkF
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBL3cGJ5i4Y
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLsc0ZfB6z
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SZfpx1s0r
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBzd8flXHc
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSr91S8YZsk
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdjEqMaLtN
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDczjErOXpY
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNp150JP2U
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtns9tPjCaU
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2jPLkuBAA
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡph2Nnl74k1
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnP0EOp9vga
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY66N4MfLKg
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXV0gIpXrZw
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpCt17FdUJ
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2Jdy7YyGW
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTaFIbcTFb
But today, something changed. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YHzeg0gLj
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkETuwhrLtJ
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5FcPSIHsH
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnx5xRfuam
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9COCFfrPG
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAd9b9MwhIM
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsLKEGGFBv
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0fl1hyMyo
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNx39Rz1o3d
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6tDhQ6xh2
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eGUTtzK52
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDtfsaQWZN
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYrznYDfo7
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5uHS0ILrM
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSXA0fE2j7
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEpaHLiY6Z
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDTrznMoL4
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4Rrrgn0UN
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlCtCiU3Cw
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrH70WT7Zeq
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrpY8Bk0vX
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsK4VXc7WLL
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QzTesT194
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjXJqqjsbh
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRiWpTqgle
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlpmgaUN3Uf
"Missy!"247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaumlCQGUTN
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJ6NWJoaPH
"Soup!" she whined back.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsIcsm7dqKU
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHcCsdwn6v
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlzHOLvSZcE
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0sLZF0jOh
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uVpqEZksC
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡymS16y5sbG
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgusDdQxPLd
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzy8sUrGHj
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GhnzxmupL
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhchLVrrvNH
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7RTF0hf0F
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJFU4i7B0r
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8WqGlt4n0
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtN3PmmC75H
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2xGXRN5Yj
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbzmLo9Hz7
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqf6YJj5Yrf
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVG30gOmsT4
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSupbzFBGSv
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcEsfh0SII
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ViuYTsj1f
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAXtqjPCA7
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrzR7c8QCq
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNm1wkidFj
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirYkPp9BDk
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHRCUn9URe
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3rx8ATXzk
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. 247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVEoDQ3j3q8
247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcR4kmxf7OI
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
