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.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDncWhn5ZM
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2f8Jcct0v
He took a few steps forth when I passed him, wagging a finger. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdufJl3l9J
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5VpOS5n0U
I knew what was coming and smiled at it. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2u8ADOfZye
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZasEXUxr9k
"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!" 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5z2QQtHfE
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80opLRtKw0
I paused and turned back to him. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6gKmqIFtS
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYX0kc0CQlc
That wasn't his usual warning. He was supposed to tell me not to hurt her, like he always did. He never changed it. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYQiIJnYUw
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNb1iJBh4jt
What was going on here? 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWs5StnxvDs
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XQQZxV3cq
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYi8x1aU3ls
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiW76vlQJIY
What was she doing here? She was supposed to be home! 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkqDzSz7Vq
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZKuP6qNBc
"Soup! Don't be scared! I only want to find out a few things!" she blurted on her way. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKRscaVF3l
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DuHkMqEFO
No, no, no! She was meant to be happy, not chasing me! 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ZpL9Rr6Ia
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpx22yjkuDa
I scurried for the bridge, pausing at the beginning of it to see Missy throw her arms down in defeat. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCDtioJCkK
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkO1ugLcUe
She wasn't going to follow me. She knew it was too dangerous to be tempting fate on a place like this. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKySj7DVEjw
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUXpclgKdb
"No, don't go!" she whined out to me "Soup!" 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbox6cDWFt
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWUjQ5Zmqy
She had her dreams of solitude. Why was she trying to ruin it all now? 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYlEaxGrVQ
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zOwTLCSxS
I rushed over the bridge and kept going until I was safely over the river. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRuBCt3BsI
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5c8KhOalbu
She just needed more time to realise. Then, we would be back to normal again.
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYF56p3RjbA
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TRzlXsk5w
Unlike my hopes, Missy was relentless in her pursuit for answers. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVv376W8Ghc
Every afternoon I approached the tracks, she would be there, waiting. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9EwagfisQ2
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFb5xsuLDw
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDp1v0vetI
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcveCegIcA5
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLliPb9Sup
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQa1VI6t5j
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXq1FRSlcDS
I could see it was breaking her spirit at how wary I was being of someone I had cherished so highly. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fNxeZFNtr
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IMYdCozLk
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0P2iBGsUhw
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeMrWSFiMq
Starvation was bringing me back to those tracks every day to only be met with disappointment once again.
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZOVefUSD8
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERrJlASyRK
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8prsS5MD0X
But today, something changed. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy00CRi44EO
Missy stepped onto the tracks. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3l7p177XeL
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoY5V73MKNI
She came marching towards me with worried glanced over her shoulder to any danger that might be barrelling past her home from the West. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzriP93ouc
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrTbJHcJ5W
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExstZoiLgm
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GVIc9AaX1
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7QhjqqNid
I wouldn't be able to do anything but watch hopelessly if the train decided to run early. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ef8QTX71H
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEle1NCudN
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzLTJ0zC9Z
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXcwsZQsDj
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oTaBPfPJy
Time had done nothing to deter her. If anything, it had fuelled her curiosity into what happened that night. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6u43gz575
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifMSAgoujf
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRUb8POtbo
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkeujneLo9T
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHk8IuZhPrg
"Come on!" I cried out to her still powering along "hurry! Please!" 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKV2EfYhXI
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfc4kkIYCa1
I didn’t want to be here anymore. I knew the train had to be approaching this point at any moment now.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikSVgPovIZ
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF1dHXxU4vz
Sure enough, I saw it in the distance behind Missy. It powered effortlessly on its approach to her house it easily passed in moments. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JcTXlNyij
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1xdL0syqS
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpav2wFRko
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVqxyisyZ7
"Missy!"384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdQUEPpcV7
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxp6r37WRf0
"Soup!" she whined back.384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52c1Zixe4e
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mH2aYpMGL
The train ploughed past the station, screaming out frantically now. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbYlcAj0oG
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeWX4XfpvA
Missy was approaching the safety of the land, but still couldn't outrun the train quickly closing in on her. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwBoFEKFSr
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTv4HvhyAKc
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBmkCgqcvM
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqHoDNLwnA
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2ptiRaddW
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡndEp7v803a
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yzoxh9NFk
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tkMnawOB6
"Never do anything that stupid again" I gasped out and squeezed her close. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5Gnu96Lbo
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsQLn8gflx
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJm6bAKCVjA
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzsEPLmogE
Her glistening brown eyes looked up to mine, searching again. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qBqwzNDqm
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdp9ThJ3hiw
My body stiffened, dreading that the same fear and confusion would wash over them like that night I had run from them. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxUfsBQwFE
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAJk6ejUxX
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3Y3jqwRfS
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4CLQ1oyWc
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhIwlKmm88
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rj4sefuzk
"Can I still call you Soup?" her voice breathed as her eyes found mine again, curious. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7S0wUukRD
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOtBKG2Cul
Did she want to shatter it all for me? Or did she want to keep it the way it was, blissfully ignorant? 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4LQWTrd2N
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. 384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HgriDX3Nb
384Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSuOb3CcV8j
I only had the name she gave me. Whatever she wanted that to mean would be up to her.
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