........=†                                          †=........
.......=†*                                          *†=.......
......=†*£                                          £*†=......
.....=†*£§                                          §£*†=.....
....=†*£§@                                          @§£*†=....
...=†*£§@# †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† #@§£*†=...
..=†*£§@##                                          ##@§£*†=..
...=†*£§@#          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) †=........
.......=†*                                          *†=.......
......=†*£ †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† £*†=......
.....=†*£§                                          §£*†=.....
....=†*£§@                                          @§£*†=....
...=†*£§@#                                          #@§£*†=...
..=†*£§@##                                          ##@§£*†=..
...=†*£§@#                                          #@§£*†=...