,,,,.=†$$#                                          #$$†=.,,,,
,.=†*$##@#                                          #@##$*†=.,
,.=†*$##@#                                          #@##$*†=.,
,,,,,=**$#                                          #$**=,,,,,
,.=*$##@##                                          ##@##$*=.,
,.=†*$#### †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† ####$*†=.,
,,,,,,.=*#                                          #*=.,,,,,,
,,,.=†$##@          MOUSE GIRL LIKES SHOES          @##$†=.,,,
,.=†*$##@@                                          @@##$*†=.,
,.=†*$$$##                †  †  †  †                ##$$$*†=.,
,,,,..=*#@                                          @#*=..,,,,
,.=†*$##@# IN  THIS  DREAM  I WAS  A GIRL OF  MAYBE #@##$*†=.,
,,.=††*$$# SIXTEEN YEARS,  TOGETHER WITH MY DAD  IN #$$*††=.,,
,,.==*$$$# A  HUGE  BATH HOUSE  /  SPA  /  HOTEL  / #$$$*==.,,
,.=†*$##@@ SHOPPING CENTRE.       DAD WAS CONSTATLY @@##$*†=.,
,.=†*$#### POINTING OUT HOT  GIRLS  TO ME. "YOU SEE ####$*†=.,
,.=†*$##@#   THAT BLACK-HAIRED THING DISSAPEARING   #@##$*†=.,
,.=†*$##@# BEHIND  THE  CLOTHES  RACK?  OOF!"  HE'D #@##$*†=.,
,,,,,.=*#@ 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 ##**†=.,,,
,.=†*$##@# AROUND BY  THE LIGHT  SHINING DOWN  FROM #@##$*†=.,
,.=†*$##@# THE  WINDOWS   OF  THE  HIGHER   FLOORS. #@##$*†=.,
,,,,.=**##                                          ##**=.,,,,
,,,,.†$$$# SHE  LAY DOWN IN A PATCH OF GRASS. I SAT #$$$†.,,,,
,,,,..††$# DOWN  ON  MY  KNEES,  AND  THEN  CRAWLED #$††..,,,,
,.=†*$##@# CLOSER.  SHE  LAUGHED AT  ME  AGAIN, AND #@##$*†=.,
,.=†*$##@#                  SAID -                  #@##$*†=.,
,.=†*$##@#                                          #@##$*†=.,
,.=†*$##@#                †  †  †  †                #@##$*†=.,
,.=†*$##@#                                          #@##$*†=.,
,,,,,==†$# (HERE I AM AWAKENED BY THE MORNING CREW) #$†==,,,,,
,.=†*$#@##                                          ##@#$*†=.,
,,,===†$## †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† ##$†===,,,
,.=†*$##@#                                          #@##$*†=.,
,,,=†††$##                                          ##$†††=,,,
,..==†$$#@                                          @#$$†==..,
,.=†*$#@##                                          ##@#$*†=.,
,.=†*$$$$#                                          #$$$$*†=.,