~~~~
~,, ,,~
:, ,:
§*§:~,.... ............ : : ............ ....,~:§*§
@§*§:~,... :, ,: ...,~:§*§@
#@§*§:~,.. ~,, ,,~ ..,~:§*§@#
##@§*§:~,. ~~~~ .,~:§*§@##
#@§*§:~,.. ..,~:§*§@#
@§*§:~,... The River That'S Our River Makes A ...,~:§*§@
§*§:~,.... Large Bend Like A Scooping Hand And A ....,~:§*§
*§:~,..... Decent Days Travel North From That .....,~:§*
§:~,...... Stands Our House In The Middle Of A ......,~:§
:~,....... Forgotten Apple Orchard. Our House Is .......,~:
§:~,...... Built Of Dark Clay And Abandoned By A ......,~:§
*§:~,..... Stranger. The Window Has No Glass But .....,~:§*
§*§:~,.... Instead Steel Bars To Keep The Animals ....,~:§*§
@§*§:~,... Out. ...,~:§*§@
#@§*§:~,.. ..,~:§*§@#
##@§*§:~,. Around The House Is A Thick, Thick .,~:§*§@##
#@§*§:~,.. Brush Of Ferns And Bushes. There Live ..,~:§*§@#
@§*§:~,... The Animals That We Fight To Keep Away, ...,~:§*§@
§*§:~,.... For They Speak To Us To Join Them In ....,~:§*§
*§:~,..... The Luscious Caves Below Ground. They .....,~:§*
§:~,...... Mean No Harm But It Is Not In Our Best ......,~:§
:~,....... Interest To Do So. There Is Important .......,~:
§:~,...... Work That Needs To Be Done, And It Cant ......,~:§
*§:~,..... Be Done By Animals. (Father Says This.) .....,~:§*
§*§:~,.... ....,~:§*§
@§*§:~,... Every Morning Our Father Clears The ...,~:§*§@
#@§*§:~,.. Ferns And Uproots The Bushes Only For ..,~:§*§@#
##@§*§:~,. Them To Grow Back Each Night. Their .,~:§*§@##
#@§*§:~,.. Leaves Are Teal, White And Yellow, Some ..,~:§*§@#
@§*§:~,... Even The Color Of Wine. They Have Lilac ...,~:§*§@
§*§:~,.... Flowers And In The Morning They Are Wet ....,~:§*§
*§:~,..... With Dew. .....,~:§*
§:~,...... ......,~:§
:~,....... Father Is Away During The Day Doing .......,~:
§:~,...... Important Things Elsewhere. He Is Weary ......,~:§
*§:~,..... When He Returns Home, Each Day More So .....,~:§*
§*§:~,.... Than The Next. We Learn To Cook For Him ....,~:§*§
@§*§:~,... So That He Does Not Have To. We Tend To ...,~:§*§@
#@§*§:~,.. His Clothes. ..,~:§*§@#
##@§*§:~,. .,~:§*§@##
#@§*§:~,.. Suddenly The Dense Bushwork Is Mirrored ..,~:§*§@#
@§*§:~,... Inside. Stems And Leaves Appear Close ...,~:§*§@
§*§:~,.... To The Walls And Far From The Light. We ....,~:§*§
*§:~,..... Are Glad, For The Flowers Are Beautiful .....,~:§*
§:~,...... And Smell Good, And There Is Little ......,~:§
:~,....... Decoration In Our House. But When .......,~:
§:~,...... Father Comes Home He Is Angry And Cuts ......,~:§
*§:~,..... Them All Down In A Frenzy. We Are .....,~:§*
§*§:~,.... Scared Of Him Then. ....,~:§*§
@§*§:~,... ...,~:§*§@
#@§*§:~,.. We Are Then Tasked With Removing Any ..,~:§*§@#
##@§*§:~,. Indoor Plant We See. But They Are So .,~:§*§@##
#@§*§:~,.. Beautiful! We Wait Just Until Father ..,~:§*§@#
@§*§:~,... Comes Home And Until Then We Enjoy ...,~:§*§@
§*§:~,.... Them. Sometimes An Animal Will Sneak In ....,~:§*§
*§:~,..... But We Always Shoo Them Out. With Fresh .....,~:§*
§:~,...... Cut Flowers Thrown Right Outside The ......,~:§
:~,....... House He Suspects And Resents Our .......,~:
§:~,...... Inaction. But He Doesn'T Have The ......,~:§
*§:~,..... Energy To Scold Us. He Weakens Quickly. .....,~:§*
§*§:~,.... It Is Not Long Before He Is Still Tired ....,~:§*§
@§*§:~,... Even In The Morning And Must ...,~:§*§@
#@§*§:~,.. Reluctantly Leave The Outdoor Weed ..,~:§*§@#
##@§*§:~,. Cutting To Us As Well, Untrusting That .,~:§*§@##
#@§*§:~,.. We Will Carry It Out. ..,~:§*§@#
@§*§:~,... ...,~:§*§@
§*§:~,.... Now He Leaves As Soon As He'S Awake And ....,~:§*§
*§:~,..... Falls Asleep As Soon As He Returns. We .....,~:§*
§:~,...... Are Left To Care For Us And The House ......,~:§
:~,....... And The Orchard. But It Is Hard And We .......,~:
§:~,...... Are Distracted. We Are Not As ......,~:§
*§:~,..... Persistent As Father And Quickly Fall .....,~:§*
§*§:~,.... Behind In Our Duties. ....,~:§*§
@§*§:~,... ...,~:§*§@
#@§*§:~,.. ..,~:§*§@#
##@§*§:~,. .,~:§*§@##
#@§*§:~,.. ..,~:§*§@#
@§*§:~,... ...,~:§*§@