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*~ ~*
......~~*§ ............ * * ............ §*~~......
.......~~* *~ ~* *~~.......
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.........~ 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. §*~~......
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