#££**=†~:. .:~†=**££#
££*††~:... ...:~††*££
###£*=†~:. .:~†=*£###
####£*=†:. .:†=*£####
££*=†::... ...::†=*££
#£*=†:.... †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† ....:†=*£#
###£*=†~:. .:~†=*£###
###£*=†~:. MOUSE GIRL LIKES SHOES .:~†=*£###
###£*=†~:. .:~†=*£###
##*†:::... † † † † ...:::†*##
###£*=†~:. .:~†=*£###
#£=~~:.... IN THIS DREAM I WAS A GIRL OF MAYBE ....:~~=£#
#£***=†~:. SIXTEEN YEARS, TOGETHER WITH MY DAD IN .:~†=***£#
#£=††:.... A HUGE BATH HOUSE / SPA / HOTEL / ....:††=£#
####£*=~:. SHOPPING CENTRE. DAD WAS CONSTATLY .:~=*£####
£=~:...... POINTING OUT HOT GIRLS TO ME. "YOU SEE ......:~=£
##*===†~:. THAT BLACK-HAIRED THING DISSAPEARING .:~†===*##
££*=†~.... BEHIND THE CLOTHES RACK? OOF!" HE'D ....~†=*££
££=††::::. SAY. HE WAS ALWAYS VERY CREEPY ABOUT .::::††=££
###£*=†~:. THIS, GOING FOR GIRLS MY AGE. .:~†=*£###
####£*=†:. .:†=*£####
###£*=†~:. THIS NIGHT HE HAD JUST TRIED TO WOO A .:~†=*£###
#*=~~:.... GIRL HE CALLED A "MOUSE" BY BUYING HER ....:~~=*#
#££*=~.... SHOES, BUT SHE HAD ACCEPTED THEM ONLY ....~=*££#
###£*=†~:. TO RUN AWAY IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARD. DAD .:~†=*£###
###£*=†~:. WAS A BIT BUMMED BUT DROPPED IT .:~†=*£###
#£==~..... QUICKLY. I SAID GOODNIGHT TO HIM AND .....~==£#
#££=~~:... WENT LOOKING FOR THE MOUSE. ...:~~=££#
£==†:..... .....:†==£
£=~:::.... THE BUILDING WAS ENORMOUS AND MAZELIKE. ....:::~=£
#£££*=†~:. WALLS, FLOORS AND PILLARS WERE SET IN .:~†=*£££#
#£££*=†~:. GREEN MARBLE. THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE RAN .:~†=*£££#
###£*=†~:. A MAIN BOULEVARD, WIDE AS A STREET, .:~†=*£###
#£==†:.... FRAMED WITH CLAY VASES DARK AS OBSIDIAN ....:†==£#
##*==†~... AND TALLER THAN A PERSON. IN EACH VASE ...~†==*##
£==~...... WAS PLACED UPRIGHT A LEAF FROM A PALM ......~==£
#£=††:.... TREE OR GIANT FERN. THE BOULEVARD WAS ....:††=£#
###£*=†~:. DIMLY LIT, WHICH ALLOWED THE POOLS THAT .:~†=*£###
###£*=†~:. WERE GENEROUSLY SPRINKLED THROUGHOUT .:~†=*£###
#£====†~:. EACH FLOOR WOULD REFLECT SUGGESTIVE .:~†====£#
£=~~~:.... PATTERNS ON THE MARBLE. ....:~~~=£
#*†~~::... ...::~~†*#
#££=~:.... † † † † ....:~=££#
###£*=†~:. .:~†=*£###
#£=†~:.... FOLLOWING THE BOULEVARD, TWO FLOORS UP ....:~†=£#
£**==††~:. I FOUND HER CRYING BEHIND TWO FERN .:~††==**£
#£*=~:.... VASES. SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL, AND AS I ....:~=*£#
###£*=†~:. APPROACHED, SHE LOOKED UP AND SNIVELED. .:~†=*£###
#*=†~..... IN THE NEAREST VASE SHE HAD STUFFED .....~†=*#
###£*=†~:. BOTH THE SHOES. .:~†=*£###
#£*††~:... ...:~††*£#
###£*=†~:. I TOLD HER TO FOLLOW, BUT SHE DIDN'T .:~†=*£###
###£*=†~:. MOVE OR SPEAK. SO INSTEAD I SAID TO .:~†=*£###
###£*=†~:. STAY THERE, AND RAN TO GET HER A BETTER .:~†=*£###
###£*=†~:. PAIR OF SHOES THAT SHE WOULD ACTUALLY .:~†=*£###
#££=~~~... LIKE. WHEN I RETURNED, HAVING SPENT ...~~~=££#
£*=††:.... MORE THAN I COULD REALLY AFFORD, SHE ....:††=*£
###£*=†~:. WAS VISIBLY IMPRESSED. I TRIED TO SOUND .:~†=*£###
#£==~~.... COOL, SAYING SOMETHING LIKE "WHAT DO ....~~==£#
###£*=†~:. YOU THINK, JUST BECAUSE A GIRL HAS A .:~†=*£###
##**=~.... FREAKY DAD, SHE DOESN'T HAVE TASTE?" ....~=**##
##*==†~:.. BUT MOUSE GIRL JUST LAUGHED AT ME. ..:~†==*##
####£*=†~. .~†=*£####
####£*=†~. SHE THEN TOOK ME BY THE HAND AND LED ME .~†=*£####
£££=~..... OUT A SIDE ROUTE TO A CLOSED-OFF .....~=£££
###£*=†~:. ROOFTOP WALKING GARDEN, FULL OF JUNIPER .:~†=*£###
££*=~..... AND THUJA. IT WAS A LATE EVENING, AND .....~=*££
###£*=†~:. THE STARS WERE GLITTERING. BEING .:~†=*£###
###£*=†~:. CLOSED, THE GARDEN HAD ITS LIGHT TURNED .:~†=*£###
#**=††:... OFF, BUT WE COULD STILL SEE OUR WAY ...:††=**#
###£*=†~:. AROUND BY THE LIGHT SHINING DOWN FROM .:~†=*£###
#£££*=†~:. THE WINDOWS OF THE HIGHER FLOORS. .:~†=*£££#
##£**=†~:. .:~†=**£##
#££**=†~:. SHE LAY DOWN IN A PATCH OF GRASS. I SAT .:~†=**££#
###£*=†~:. DOWN ON MY KNEES, AND THEN CRAWLED .:~†=*£###
££*==~:::. CLOSER. SHE LAUGHED AT ME AGAIN, AND .:::~==*££
###£*=†~:. SAID - .:~†=*£###
£=††:..... .....:††=£
#*††~::::. † † † † .::::~††*#
##££*=†~:. .:~†=*££##
##££*=†~:. (HERE I AM AWAKENED BY THE MORNING CREW) .:~†=*££##
#£***=†~:. .:~†=***£#
###£*=†~:. †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† .:~†=*£###
###£*=†~:. .:~†=*£###
£==~~..... .....~~==£
###£*=†~:. .:~†=*£###
###£*=†~:. .:~†=*£###
###£*=†~:. .:~†=*£###