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